Pourquoi C'est Beau
by dove1593
Summary: An Azula/Kuei love story. Earth King Kuei is challenged on a trip to the Fire Nation to draw a ghostly Princess Azula out of her dark room and into the light of day. But where everyone else sees a girl wasting away, Kuei finds himself seeing glimmers of beauty in her.
1. Opening

My prequel to Beautiful Surprises that I wrote last year. There's a lot more to come (trust me)!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters

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><p>What does someone do with a girl like Azula? Spending time in the Fire Nation has led me to one conclusion: whatever is done with her, it has to happen soon or Zuko is going to go bald pulling his hair out.<p>

She's difficult, to say the least. She is, to some degree, like a lion-turtle. She was so powerful and strong, and then when everything around her fell apart, so did she and she crawled into a shell and refuses to come out. She spends most of her time in her room, she will only see her brother and only when she wants to, and she doesn't speak. Any attempt he's made to coax her out of her shell has failed, although I know she isn't his first priority. To be honest, I don't blame him. A person just doesn't forgive and forget fourteen years of misery.

Still, she can't continue to live this way. She'll commit suicide eventually. There must be some place for her in this new world that isn't locked in a tower.

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><p>(p.s. the title is French for "why this is beautiful." I sort of stole the title from the song, Pourquoi C'est Beau, by Christophe Mae. I don't own that either...)<p>

(in addition to that, I suggest you go and listen to this song and look up the English translation because it's really awesome)


	2. Part Un

Part One (the numbers are going to be in French, FYI)

Sorry it's so late...this story just keeps getting longer and I wanted to be solid in the beginning.

Enjoy! (disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters...)

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><p>"Kuei," Aang called down a hallway one afternoon on my visit. The outer walls had large windows with heavy curtains drawn back to allow the early summer sunshine to fill the hall. "Do you know where this lunch Zuko wants is?"<p>

I turned around and waited for him to catch up. A servant had come to my room in the morning with a message that Zuko wanted to meet Aang and me for lunch in a gazebo in the courtyards. I had been heading for the courtyards, hoping to happen across someone-possibly Zuko-that could point me in the right direction.

"No," I answered. "Maybe there will be a sign."

Aang laughed, then sarcastically said, "I can picture it now, a big sign with arrows and everything above one of the gazebos in the gardens."

"I know they aren't too keen on advertisement around you," I said. "Do you know what this lunch is about? Zuko's always telling you things ahead of time."

The young Avatar sighed. "People are always telling me things," he said. "But no, he hasn't mentioned anything about this lunch. I haven't even seen him yet today."

I wondered if he was going through another phase of mistrust. We all know that people are out there that would like to kill us, but Zuko seemed a little less than confident in his guards' abilities to protect him. The fact that he was a master firebender himself could hardly be comfort for him at times.

"Do you think he's having another episode?" I asked.

Aang shook his head. "No, I think he's finally gotten over that." Then he glanced around and added in a quieter voice, "Personally, I think he's fed up with Azula. She's just too much to handle for him."

I hadn't seen Azula since I'd been in the Fire Nation, but everything I heard about her was how bitter and broken down she was. She stayed in her room and refused most contact with everyone else unless it was Zuko, and he only got her attention on her terms.

"What does he want us to do about it?" I said.

He shrugged. "I don't know. He throws this ball for her every year, and she's refused to go to the last few of them. It's in a couple weeks."

I nodded. "Maybe we should find this lunch gazebo."

We made our way to the inner courtyards and poked our heads into every gazebo we saw until we finally came across the one Zuko and Mai sat in with lunch. Our tardiness was fairly forgiven, but Zuko was quick to get to his point.

"Azula's taken up painting," he explained as we nibbled nervously at our food. "All the paintings in here were done by her."

Aang and I glanced around the room. Mai shifted in her chair to rest her chin on her hand. There were half a dozen paintings hanging on the walls, and they were all breath-taking. One was of a cherry tree in full bloom, another a valley of lilies among mountains, and another a river lined with an autumn wood. Carefully scripted phrases were on the side of each painting. "Knotted trees, twisted river," "Valleys in the shadows of mountains," and the like.

"They're beautiful," I told him.

Aang nodded, and then said, "Zuko, they seem a little creepy to me."

"What do you mean?" the Fire Lord asked, his eyes hardening.

"I don't know," Aang said to fill space while he thought. He gestured to a painting of the shoreline with white waves rolling in. "I mean, does 'Writhing tides on white sands' really sound appropriate for this."

"Azula's always had an interesting choice in words," he defended.

"She feels like she's drowning, Zuko," Mai pointed out, sitting up straight again. "That's what that statement says to me."

"She's depressed," Aang said calmly. "Things need to change for her."

"And I haven't tried to make her life better?" Zuko responded bitterly. "She has everything she could want and more."

"Zuko, think about it," Mai said, tired frustration in her voice. "If Azula wanted a big party, she would go to it. She would've taken over all this planning nonsense by now if she wanted a party."

"What am I supposed to do?" he argued. "I can't handle her anymore! This has to be someone else's problem!"

Mai looked across the table at me. "What about you, your majesty?" she asked with a biting edge to her tone. "You don't do much around here."

In my defense, Aang and Zuko got into a screaming match every time we met. It was a better idea to not say anything at all. "What could I do for her?" I asked in return.

"Well, she can't hate you because you're practically a stranger to her," she explained. "And you're a fairly sensitive person. Gain her trust."

I was only here for another two weeks. Progress Zuko couldn't make in two years was impossible for me to do in two weeks.

Zuko had calmed down a little bit now. He sat back in his chair and poked at a fiery spiced salmon piece with his chopsticks. "If you can convince my sister to go to her ball, you can marry her if you want."

Mai slapped his arm with the back of her hand.

"That's okay, Zuko, I don't need a reward," I said. "You have done a lot for me, and it's time I do something for you in return."

Lunch ended on a happier note than it had begun, and when it was over, Zuko took me to Azula's room. On the way through the palace, I started to realize exactly what I'd signed up for. Azula was severely depressed. She hated everyone around her, including Zuko. She hadn't spoken in two years. Last time we'd met, she was inches away from killing me. And I had to gain her trust in two weeks in time for her to go to this ball and me to go home.

Zuko knocked on her door before pushing it open and stepping in, motioning for me to follow. For someone who was supposed to be depressed, Azula's surroundings certainly didn't show it. Her soft, rose-colored walls were covered in delicate tapestries of beautiful Fire Nation women dressed in fancy robes and a dozen or so more of her own landscape paintings. The curtains on a large window were tied back and sunlight flooded the room. Azula herself was sprawled across a small couch under the window, reading a book in the streams of sun rolling across her.

We approached her, and I tried to stay quiet and a few steps behind Zuko. "Azula," he said gently as not to startle her. "I have someone here to see you."

She shifted from her back to her side so she faced away from us.

Zuko sighed. "Come on, just give this a chance." When she didn't flinch , he added, "I'm not leaving until you at least meet him."

I would've thought that Azula only complied to get Zuko away from her, but I know Azula didn't do anything unless she wanted to. She sat up and set her book down in her lap.

The small girl with the big voice that have invaded my palace and taken over my city was not the girl that sat before me now. A silken robe tied at her waist hung in bags around her petite frame. Dark circles sat below her golden eyes like ash under dying embers. Her skin was pale and brittle-looking from what I assumed to be a lack of nutrition. A mountain of raven waves fell around her shoulders and down her back.

In spite of her ghostly appearance, I smiled when her eyes met mine. Partly to be friendly, but mostly because I knew Azula had been beautiful before. She still was.

"You remember the Earth King, don't you?" Zuko asked.

She nodded, then held her book up and began reading.

"I'm going to leave you two for a few hours, okay?" he said. "Be nice," he warned to Azula before leaving.

When he had left, Azula rolled her eyes as if to say, "Yeah right, buddy." I laughed. Her expression immediately changed to an angry glare at me.

"You're witty without words," I said to show her I had meant no harm. I figured she wasn't going to talk to me, so when her glare softened, I pointed to an overflowing bookcase. "Do you mind if I borrow one?"

She shook her head, so I wandered over and scanned a shelf of titles, grabbing a short one entitled, _On The Edge of Burning Seas_. When I returned to the sofa where Azula sat, I took a place in a cushioned chair next to it. As I started to read, I thought I heard her snicker. I glanced over the top of the book. "What is it?"

She held her own book up higher and pointed to me. Her book was called _Falling White Rose Petals_ which I assumed to be some kind of love story. So far, I'd made it through three pages of mine detailing a regiment of Fire Nation troops on the ocean heading to the Earth Kingdom. Had I picked up a romance novel without thinking?

"Can't a guy be a little sensitive?" I joked.

The corner of her lip twitched in a way that made me believe she was trying to smile; she'd just forgotten how. She quickly went back to her book.

I returned to mine and, after twenty more pages, found myself seriously interested in a tangled love story between a soldier and his sweetheart back home.

All we did that afternoon was read. By the time Zuko came back, I had finished the novel and started another, also a love story. Azula had never appeared to be interested in romance, but I suppose everyone has a secret somewhere. Being a teenage girl that wanted to fall in love was a surprise to me at first, but I realized it was the only thing she didn't have.

Of course, I couldn't prove that Azula wanted to read these books or if she even liked them. She could be reading them because she had read everything else. Still, I decided that there was something to be learned from all the love stories on her bookshelves.

When Zuko returned, I knew by the steaming look on his face that I hadn't made the kind of progress he'd been expecting. I wasn't going to make her talk to me, and she was beyond listening if I was going to try and preach at her. I had a feeling that those were the things Zuko had relied on, and he had no progress to show for it.

"Azula, I brought you dinner," he said, setting a tray of some kind of stew and a cup of tea on a table next to the couch she still laid on.

She glanced from her book to the tray then right back to the book. She wasn't going to eat.

I followed Zuko out, and he started in on me the second the door latched behind us.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"Appeasing her," I said. "It she wants to sit and read and not talk, I can't very well force her to do anything else."

Appeasing people seems to be the only thing I could successfully do in politics. Well, in Aang and Zuko's form of politics. When one of them had to be right, it was simpler to not say anything.

Zuko opened his mouth to argue by quickly stopped. "Could you at least get her to eat?" he eventually said.

"I can try," I said. "I mean, Fire Nation food isn't my favorite, but what you had for her there just looked awful. Do you think she'd be more likely to eat if she had something a little more appetizing?"

"She stopped eating a long time ago," Zuko said with a bit of sadness leaking through his voice. "The chef refused to make her elaborate things if she wasn't going to eat them, and I didn't see a problem with it."

I nodded. "If it's been a while, maybe it's worth another shot."


	3. Part Deux

Part Two!

(disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters)

(P.S. You guys should all watch Legend of Korra on Saturday mornings) (it's really cool)

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><p>The next day, Zuko had me take Azula's lunch to her. I stared at the tray of traditional, spicy Fire Nation food while he knocked on her door. He had said that at some point, this used to be her favorite meal. I don't know how anyone liked this dish though. Food that could stare back at me made eating uncomfortable.<p>

When we walked into the room this time, the couch had been moved from the window and instead there stood Azula, painting at an easel. She turned when she heard us, and eyed the food suspiciously. She set her paintbrush down, grabbed a rag and began wiping the paint off of her hands. I started to set the tray on the same table as Zuko had before, but she stopped me. Azula set her hand on the edge of the tray as I walked by and tapped on one of the handles. I offered it to her, and she carefully took it from me.

I glanced back at Zuko. His eyes were wider than a scared cat's.

Azula set the tray down herself then picked up a book from the table. She returned to me and held out the book. It was the book I'd started yesterday before Zuko had come. A corner of paper stuck out of the top where I'd left off. How had she known I'd come back?

"Thanks," I told her, taking the book.

She nodded and went back to the table. Her hand softly picked up a roll of bread, and she broke a piece off and placed it in her mouth. My first thought was that she did this to make Zuko happy, but as far as I knew, she'd never done anything to make him happy before. Why start now?

I smiled. Appeasing her had worked. My first guess was that she hadn't been eating because Zuko had tried to force her into it. My second was that her depression had made her lose her appetite anyway.

If I had been Aang, I would've taken this opportunity to gloat about my success. He had a habit of doing that when his plans worked; he even had a victory dance to go along with it. I'm not Aang though, so I just turned to Zuko and waited.

He nodded, said good bye to Azula, and left.

When I faced her again, she was sitting in the chair, the tray of food in her lap. On my way to the moved couch, I glanced at the half-finished painting on the easel. It was supposed to be a forest of tall pines in the winter. I wondered what she would write on this one.

Today though, she ate. She didn't just nibble at the roll and poke the rice around with her chopsticks. In about a half hour, the entire plate was empty except for a few gains of rice and one shrimp. I couldn't believe it. All this time, someone just had to sit down and read with her.

When she'd finished her lunch, she went back to painting as if she'd never been interrupted. I tried to read, but I couldn't help to glance up and watch her paint. The concentration on her face, biting her lip and chewing at the end of her paintbrush in thought, the paint from her hands that smeared across her forehead when she wiped the sweat off her face and the hair out of her eyes.

The sun was beginning to set on the summer day when she finished the painting. I glanced up from the book to see she'd left her easel and was standing at a vanity with a basin of water. She splashed the water over her face and took a clean towel to wipe the paint off her face and hands. She picked up a brush and pulled it through her long hair before tying a ribbon around it into a ponytail. She returned to her easel and collected the paintbrushes. By then, she had noticed my lack of reading.

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Your paintings are beautiful," I said. "It's interesting to watch you create one."

She turned the easel around to reveal the final product. Snow pillows weighed down on evergreen branches. A heavy blanket lay across the forest floor, untouched by any creature. "Silent winds speak to still trees unmoving" was scripted down the side.

I smiled. The words were unnerving, but her talent didn't cease to amaze me. "Where did you learn to paint like this?"

She shrugged.

"You're one fantastic young woman," I told her. "I admire your talent and determination."

Then, it happened. She smiled. Her lips curved upward and revealed a line of white teeth. A blush rose in her cheeks and her eyes sparked a brighter amber. As quickly as it had appeared though, it disappeared. The tiredness returned to her expression and the delight in her eyes receded. But it had been there, and I would draw it out of her again.

The following few days were the same. I brought Azula lunch, she ate, and we sat in silence reading, or she painted. I read through romance novel after romance novel, some sweet and innocent and other others trashy and amusing. Azula herself continued to be amused with my reading them.

It took her about two days to start and finished a painting. The phrases that went with the paintings, even though they were so metaphorically disturbing, often went so well with the paintings that I started to believe she had the words in mind before the scene. It scared me that even with her few smiles and new-found appetite that her words were still so worrisome.

Zuko never fully believed my tales of Azula's behavior. He often said, "I'll believe it when she tells me." After spending so much time with her, I had begun to wonder if Azula was the just one in all of this and that Zuko had given her a good reason to make her silent. If she ever started to speak to me, I would have to ask this. She communicated so well without having to talk that it was very likely she'd just never speak again. The people that couldn't understand her didn't bother her.

A week into my visits, I figured that Azula wasn't going to go to her ball. Her problems were so deeply rooted with Zuko that anything he tried to do for her was useless. I'd never be able to convince her otherwise. On the other hand, if I didn't get her to the party, her brother would not be happy.

I'd grown bored with a very long and sappy novel one afternoon and started watching Azula paint. She seemed to know when I watched her because she always glanced at me with a smirk.

"Do you ever wonder why I come here every day?" I asked. She must've either not cared too much or knew and was playing along to annoy her brother.

She nodded, then turned and pointed to a corner of the room opposite us. A red silk dress with gold and pink flowers embroidered into it hung on a mannequin. Rubies and diamonds built into a gold necklace had been laid around the mannequin's neck. An outfit for the ball. A thin layer of dust sat on top of the dress. Hadn't Zuko said he'd tried to do this before?

"Why don't you go?" I said next.

She rolled her eyes then shook her head and went back to painting.

"I'm supposed to convince you to go," I explained; although she already knew that. "But I'm not going to make you."

Azula set down her paintbrush and pulled her fingers through her hair, taking it out of her face.

"I mean it," I said. "I never had any intention of getting you there."

She'd picked up her brush again and continued painting.

Throwing Azula this ball every year seemed like beating a dead ostrich-horse. She never wanted one, and she refused to go. Something about it obviously upset her if she wouldn't communicate about it.

"You probably don't want me to ask this," I said, "but why does Zuko try to do this every year?"

The paintbrush was set back down on the easel again, and she walked across the room to a cabinet with a glass door. I got up and followed her. Inside was a collection of lavish jewelry: diamond necklaces, pearl hair adornments, ruby bracelets, opal rings, and a gold armband with the flame insignia etched into it and surrounded in topaz stones. This explanation I did not understand.

Azula began pointing to each one, holding up another finger as she passed each item. She stopped at five, and I counted the rest. Eighteen. Azula was eighteen years old.

"For your birthday?" I asked.

She nodded then turned to the corner with the dress in in it. The necklace sitting on the mannequin must be for her nineteenth birthday.

I wondered if it was some kind of ceremonial thing that the princess has a birthday party and receive a piece of jewelry from her family. The gems could be heirlooms, seeing as they were locked in the case.

But why didn't Azula want to go to her own birthday party?

I didn't have to ask, and she pointed at the armband in the case. I tried to formulate a reason as to why the armband would've upset her so much. The Fire Nation emblem probably had something to do with it. The stones went around the bottom of the flame in a semi-circle. They started with two small ones at the top and gradually got larger with the biggest two at the bottom. There were sixteen stones. It must've had to do with her sixteenth birthday, two years after the war and two years ago. Zuko had said she'd stopped speaking to him two years ago.

"This is why you don't talk, isn't it?" I said.

She nodded and limply wiped at her eyes with her wrist. Her fingers were still covered in paint. Tears had started to stream down her face.

Azula still looked so frail that I was afraid to touch her. The meals had returned some color to her face and skin, but a week's worth of lunches doesn't solve two years of near starvation. I gently touched my hand to her arm, unsure of what she actually wanted me to do. I didn't dare tell her anything would be alright. Nothing had been alright for Azula in a long time.

Shortly after my touch, she flung her arms around me in a tight hug. She was so small, her face buried in my robes. I placed my hands on her back and waited for her tears to slow. There was nothing I could say to stop them anymore.


	4. Part Trois

Part Three! (sorry it took so long)(also, it's a lot longer than the other parts...whoops)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters...

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><p>I spent time in the palace library the next morning searching for any information I could find on Azula's birthday jewelry and subsequent ball. Asking Zuko was out of the question. I felt like letting Zuko in on all that Azula communicated to me was somehow betraying her. Talking to Mai wasn't going to happen either since she was almost always with Zuko. And after several hours in the library reading records and cultural histories, I came up empty-handed.<p>

What was all this nonsense about? I was so lost in thought as I left the library, I didn't notice Aang coming down the hallway.

"Hey, we don't see too much of you anymore," he greeted me, getting my attention. "How's Azula?"

"She's fine," I answered.

"Have you made any progress yet?"

"Some," I said. "She's eating again."

Aang nodded like this was no big news. "Speaking of eating," he said, "What's eating you? You look like you haven't slept in weeks."

Really? I looked that bad? "I just can't figure out why Azula won't go to her own birthday party."

He shrugged. "Neither can the rest of us."

"Do you know anything about the jewelry she gets?" I asked.

Aang gave me a questioning look. "Is she talking to you?"

"No," I said. "Not with words anyway. She just showed me this case of jewelry."

He nodded again. "The pieces were all made by request of her mother when Azula was born. There's twenty-one in all, but Azula isn't aware of that as far as I know. It became a sort of tradition that her family held a ball in her honor to present the gifts to her."

I knew Azula wasn't fond of her mother, but she'd continued to put up with the gifts until the armband came around. "What happened on her sixteenth birthday, then?" I asked next.

Aang paused a moment to think. "She was presented with some arm thing in front of a bunch of officials and ambassadors," he explained. "But she dropped it almost instantly and ran out of the room. Then she turned into the silent and depressed Azula she is now."

So it was the armband, but what about it had upset her so much? Again, I thought about the Fire Nation emblem and the blue stones that surrounded it. Azula's mother certainly couldn't have known her daughter would become such a powerful firebender. Even if she'd had an idea of the talent Azula had, she wouldn't have known Azula would give up on her powers.

Of course, the topaz may have had nothing to do with the problem. The flame was the symbol of her country, and she had never showed an interest in taking over her responsibilities as a princess. Maybe she had given up on being a leader after seeing how badly having power had destroyed her.

The common factor between these two was Azula giving up on something she was very talented at. That alone could be what bothered her about the armband; it was a representation of the things she'd turned her back on that, at one time, she'd loved.

"I can see the wheels turning in your head, Kuei," Aang said with a suspicious look. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing yet," I said. "But I think I have an idea."

"If you get Azula to the ball," he claimed, "I'll give up bending for a week."

"I'm not trying to get her to her ball," I pointed out. "I just want to know why she doesn't go."

Aang glanced around a second. "You know something else about this party?" he asked softly. I shook my head. "Zuko's tired of dealing with Azula the way she is, but he refuses to throw her in the insane asylum again or throw her out on her own somewhere. He keeps throwing Azula this party hoping she'll come and fall in love and live happily ever after, and he doesn't have to worry about her anymore."

Zuko had told me I could marry Azula if I convinced her to show up to the ball. I didn't dare do that to her just because I'd somehow magically gotten her to her birthday party. Of course, Azula wasn't not interested in love. She couldn't own and read that many romance novels without wanting a little bit of it for herself, right?

That afternoon when I brought Azula her lunch, I had begun to wonder how I could get her to explain to me what was wrong with the armband. Asking her straight forward would probably send her into tears again which I was not prepared to handle any better than I had the day before. Her silent communication was very good, but it would be hard to tell the story with sign language. Or worse yet, she would refuse to tell me at all.

She took the tray of food from me and sat on the couch as usual, eating and not speaking. The painting she had been working on sat on the easel, and the book she'd been reading was draped over the arm of the couch. I sat in the chair and glanced at the massive novel I'd left on the small table next to me. There was no desire left to read the last two-hundred pages. All of these books had so far ended the same: happily.

"Which of these books is your favorite?" I asked her, holding up the heavy chronicle.

Azula looked up from a steaming bowl of noodle-filled soup. She set the tray aside on the couch and crossed the room to the bookshelf. She pulled one off and returned, handing it to me. _Falling White Rose Petals._ It was the book she'd been reading the first day I was here. I took it from her and opened to the first chapter. If it was Azula's favorite, maybe there was something I could learn about her from it.

She finished her lunch and started reading, abandoning an almost finished painting of a pond in the middle of a forest of blooming fruit trees. I read my book, trying to read between the lines.

It was a story that took place before the war. There was a young girl of a wealthy family that fell in love with one of their house servants. He worked and worked to buy something worthy of her lifestyle, but whenever he would start to save any decent amount of money, he would buy her a bouquet of white roses. They reminded him of her beauty, grace, kindness, and purity. Even though she loved the roses more than anything, the boy decided to enlist in the army to save up the money faster to get her something better and give her parents a reason to accept their love.

Shortly after doing this, the attacks on the villages of the eastern coast of the Earth Kingdom began, and the boy was sent overseas to fight. He was killed, and the girl was devastated. His pay that he had saved had been left in his things with a note that said, _If I don't make it home, buy her something as pretty as she is._ The army gave the money and the note to his family who ended up giving it to the girl and her family. She refused to do anything with the money since his quest for it had killed him, so her father used it to buy her enough white roses to fill her room. The book ended with the girl pulling the petals off the roses and dropping them out her bedroom window over a parade for the returning soldiers.

When I'd finished the book, Azula had not only finished hers but also the painting. "Blurred reflection, skewed beauty" was written underneath it. She sat curled up on the couch, staring at the painting.

I closed the book and said, "It's a beautiful painting."

My voice startled her and she jumped, looking to me.

"Why do you only paint nature?" I asked.

She shrugged like she didn't really know, but I knew she had a reason.

I laid awake in bed that night, staring at the ceiling and wondering about the book. The overall message was one about materialism and lust for money, but that wasn't why Azula picked that book to be her favorite. She had all the jewels and silks she could ever want, but she didn't want any of them. I could never remember a time where she wore any jewelry, and her clothing was always a top quality, but she didn't fight a war in expensive silk.

The war was another thing that bothered me about her. In the story, the war had destroyed the couple's relationship. For Azula, the war had destroyed her entire family. It had destroyed her as well. Being a leader of the war had turned her hard and cold, unfeeling and power-driven. When the war was taken away from her, she couldn't handle herself anymore. By the phrase on her most recent painting, I decided that she couldn't see the beauty in herself, and no one else could see it either.

Beauty was something she had though, both inside and out. The white roses had represented beauty and goodness. Azula didn't believe she had any goodness in her. The war had taken that away from her, too.

This was why she painted the nature scenes, why she hated her mother's gifts. Azula wanted to be good and pure, and for her, nature represented those things. The jewels and the fine clothes were the opposite.

I didn't understand the specifics of why the armband threw her over the edge and not any of the other pieces, but I had begun to understand that Azula wasn't going to that ball because it was everything she wanted to be rid of.

Instead of explaining all my hypothesis with words, I wanted to show it to her. I escaped the palace and wandered into the morning market in search of flowers. As much as I wanted to buy Azula white roses, I knew that wouldn't prove to her what I had tried to understand. Florist cart after florist cart, I searched for something as beautiful as Azula. Finally, at the end of the long main street, was a woman with a basket full of fire lilies.

"They're the first pick of the season," she said. "They only bloom for a few weeks every summer. The city will be covered with them by the end of week for the festival."

I always left the Fire Nation before the festival, but this year Aang had convinced me to stay for the experience. The lilies in the woman's basket were stunning. The light pink petals covered in red specks weren't as pure as the roses, but to me they better fit Azula. They weren't one solid, defining color. Instead, they were a mix of colors that were both soft and wild.

I returned to the palace with a bouquet of nineteen fire lilies just in time to pick up her lunch from the kitchen. Today, she was getting a cup of tea and a bowl of suspicious-looking vegetable soup. The maids in the kitchen were happy to put the flowers in a vase to carry on the tray, a nice addition to the less-than-satisfactory meal.

Azula was sprawled out on the couch with one leg over the arm of the furniture and a book in her hands. She sat up almost immediately when I closed the door behind me. Her eyes went straight to the flowers, and they were not staring in a trusting manner. When I was closer to her, her look turned to me.

"They're an early birthday present," I said, holding the tray out to her.

She set the book aside and carefully took the tray, placing it across her lap. She ran a fingertip over a few of the petals. Gently, she caressed one of the blooms in her hands and pulled it closer to her face, taking in the sweet scent of the flowers. A smile came across her lips.

"They're beautiful," she said, letting go of the flower to brush loose strands of hair out of her eyes. She looked back up at me, and her eyes flashed with impressed gratitude and a hint of playful slyness I took for her feigned anger that I had drawn her voice out.

I smiled now, too, proud of myself for solving the mystery and getting Azula to talk.

"You listen louder than you speak," she said. "What made you ask for my favorite book?"

I shrugged. "It had to be your favorite for a reason."

She picked up the tray again and set it on the small table next to the couch. "Then why is it my favorite?"

I didn't know I was going to be tested. Now if I was wrong, she would probably quit talking to me, and we'd be back to square one. Five days before the ball.

"Because true affection isn't bought with expensive gifts," I tried. "Because you feel destroyed and you want to be good, but no one will accept you that way."

Azula nodded and stood. "Do you think I could be good?"

"Azula, I don't believe you were ever completely bad," I said. "Just loyal."

"Come on," she said, heading towards the window. "We're going to take a walk; there's something I want to show you." She pulled the latch open on the window and pushed the glass out, letting in a fresh summer breeze.

I followed her, and we climbed out the first-floor window into a garden in full bloom with the exception of a patch of stalks that resembled the fire lilies'.

"These ones will bloom in a couple days," she said as we walked by. "When I was seven, they bloomed on my birthday and I thought it was some kind of magic."

She led me through the garden and into a forest of fruit trees, most of them blooming, and some ready for picking. "Some of these trees pre-date the war," she said. "Zuko thinks the fruit from them tastes better, but it's all the same to me."

The orchards ended at the foot of a rocky incline, part of the extinct volcano the city sat in. There were thin and jagged paths that led up to the top, and Azula insisted we climb them.

"What I want to show you is at the top," she said, having pulled herself up to the lowest flat. "Do you want to solve the mystery of me, or not?" She held out her hand to help me up, and I let her.

Azula handled the rocky terrain gracefully, stepping and leaping among the rocks with ease. She must have done this plenty of times before. I struggled over everything, just as concerned with tripping over pebbles as I was with making it around large boulders. By the time I reached the top, Azula was sitting cross-legged on the ground, her eyes closed, the sun falling across her face.

She must have heard my clamoring up the last ridge because she opened her eyes and glanced towards me. "Come sit," she said, patting the ground next to her.

I was more than relieved to sit down.

"This is me," she said when I was seated next to her. Her eyes closed again. "This is how I feel."

Everything Azula did appeared intricate and complex, but, as I was discovering, it was all fairly simple. I looked around me, down at the calm blue-green ocean glinting the mid-day sunlight off its surface. It was all so quiet and peaceful. I couldn't understand how Azula could ever feel at peace.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She sighed. "I feel like I'm on this ledge all the time," she explained. "One wrong step, and I fall down the face of the mountain and into the ocean. There's no coming back up after that. But climbing back down into the city has its own challenges."

I didn't want to, but I peered over the edge. She was right; if we fell, it was probably the end of us. It still didn't make sense to me that she felt like she was balanced on a ledge.

My silence must have given away my confusion because she continued. "The ocean, for me, is like insanity. I end up down there, and I'll never recover. Then the city is stability, but it's no walk in the park back to that either."

She was so bright. Anyone that didn't know who she was would think she was completely stable. "Why do you stay up here then?" I asked. The challenges of becoming a sane member of society didn't seem like something that would stop Azula. Nothing ever really stopped her from anything.

"Because it's safer here," she answered. "I could work all I wanted to be normal, but no one could ever accept me. Not after all I did during the war. If I stay here, the people are happy. I may not be perfectly so, but it's not exactly the most miserable thing either."

That was some commitment to her country and her people to keep herself locked up for them. I couldn't do it, I was pretty sure Zuko couldn't do it, and Aang probably could but he would never be happy the way Azula was.

"You're truly amazing," I told her. "It's such a shame they'll never understand how much you're actually doing for them."

She nodded. "It's hard. Some of Zuko's edicts and plans frustrate me. He's no sooner to consult me than anyone else is to trust me."

"Why is it so hard for them to see that you're not the same anymore?"

"Because I haven't changed that much at all," she claimed. "I may never firebend again, but I'm still the monster that tried to kill the Avatar. My father's master plan to burn the whole Earth Kingdom was my idea. That and the cruelty towards my brother leaked out shortly after the war was over." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "People don't forget those things."

I nodded in agreement, but she was wrong. I had forgotten. Maybe they bothered me for a while, but spending this much time with Azula now had made me believe she was someone else.

"I trust you," I said. "I don't think you're a monster."

"I took your city," she cried, "I lied to you and turned on you and overthrew your entire kingdom." She buried her face in her hands, and I wrapped my arm around her trembling shoulders.

"Azula, I don't care about those things anymore," I told her gently. "I mean it. Actually, I should be thanking you for tearing down those ancient walls."

She took one hand and batted me lightly. "Stop it," she mumbled.

"Why do you think you're a monster?" I asked.

"My mother," she admitted. "She thought it every day when I was little. She only said it a few times, but I knew from the way she looked at me that she didn't see anything good in me."

"Don't tell Zuko this," I whispered, "but your mother is crazy."

She smacked me hard in the chest with the back of her hand. "She sacrificed everything for him," she snapped. "She'd never have done that for me."

"How much are you sacrificing for your people right now?" I said when I'd recovered my breath. "Just because you were bad once doesn't mean you're still that way now."

Azula looked up at me.

"You're not a monster," I repeated. "You're a smart and unique young woman, and we could really use your thinking in this world."

The tears began to slow. She wiped at her eyes and stared out at the ocean. "Zuko will never trust me," she said blankly. "He's paranoid as it is."

"I trust you," I said. "If Zuko doesn't want your help here, you're more than welcome to come fix my country's problems. You're much better at it than I ever will be."

"You really think your people will let me help them?" she asked. She opened her mouth like she was going to re-list all the things she'd done to them before.

"If they won't, I'm the king and I'll make them," I teased.

She smiled. "I'll think about it."

We sat in the sunshine a little longer before climbing back down to the palace. At the bottom, Azula grabbed two peaches off a ripe tree and handed me one.

"Can you promise me one thing?" she asked, taking a bite of the peach.

"Anything you want."

"Don't tell Zuko about today," she said. "Too many broken rules."

I smiled behind the peach in my hand before biting into it. "Zuko will never know," I vowed. "I promise."

When we reached Azula's open bedroom window, our peaches were gone, the pits tossed aside. We climbed back in, and Azula immediately headed toward her mirror. She leaned close to it and started pressing her cheeks. After a second, she stood back and sighed. "Sunburned," she said. "How long were we gone?"

I glanced at the bowl of uneaten soup. It had stopped steaming and a film had developed over the top. "Long enough," I answered.

She turned around, her arms folded across her chest. "You are too," she pointed out.

I touched my cheek. It was a tad warmer than usual. "I think that means we need to get out more," I joked.

She approached me slowly. "Thank you," she said. "I haven't been sunburned in a long time."

"You're very welcome," I told her. "Anything to see you smile."

She started to raise her lips but fought it when she realized I'd done it on purpose. She walked over to the vase of lilies. "They really are beautiful. Why did you pick these over white roses?"

I shrugged. "These just seemed better."

"They're my favorites," Azula said, lightly touching the petals the way she had before. "It sounds silly, doesn't it? They bloom so close to my birthday, me of all people should've picked a different flower on purpose."

"What's being human if not being a little silly sometimes?" I said.

"Speaking of silly," she started, turning back to face me, "How's your bear? I've forgotten his name now."

"Bosco," I answered. "What's so silly about him?"

Now she smiled. "He's just a bear. What made you choose him as a pet?"

"He's less of a pet and more of a friend," I explained then laughed. "How's that for silly? But I chose him because he was unique and interesting. One-of-a-kind."

Her smile faded. "Up on the ledge, you told me I was unique."

I thought for a moment. I had said that. "I've always liked unique things."

"I'm pretty sure my unique and Bosco's unique are two different things," she said.

"Well, if they were the same they wouldn't be very unique now would they?" I argued lightly, placing my hands on her shoulders. "You're one-of-a-kind beautiful, Azula, inside and out."

"Why do you keep saying things like that?"

"Because they're true, at least to me," I admitted. She didn't respond, so I added, "I have an entire gallery of expensive, antique paintings, and yours put them all to shame. You put them all to shame."

Her smile came back. "Thank you. I'm going to do my best to believe you."

A knock on the door followed her words.

"Zuko," she whispered.

We scrambled to our spots on the couch and the chair, and when Zuko appeared from around the corner, it was as if we'd spent another day in silence, reading. He didn't notice the flowers, the uneaten soup, or our pink faces. If he did, he didn't say anything. As I left with him, I glanced back over at Azula on the couch. She smiled one more time.

"So have you gotten her to go to the ball?" Zuko asked anxiously once we were in the hallway.

I shook my head. "Zuko, I don't think this ball is any good for her."

"How would you know?" he snapped. "All you two do is sit and read. You haven't learned a thing about her."

"You can learn a lot about someone by the books they read," I said.

"Your ideas here aren't working fast enough," he argued. "I'm not going to look like a fool for the third year in a row."

It was hard not to smile. Azula was a mess of emotions and she was still making Zuko look like a fool without trying to. "Azula isn't going to be alright in two weeks no matter what anyone does," I said. "And I'm not going to make her go if she doesn't want to."

"You're too flexible," he spat.

That was true. I hated it, but I had very little backbone. "Maybe that's what Azula needs," I retorted, "Someone that isn't going to tell her what to do. How far have you gotten with her doing that?"

Zuko didn't answer.


	5. Part Quatre

Sorry for the delay! (again) Enjoy part four! (dislcaimer: these people...not mine...)

(Also, side note: anyone willing to discuss the new comic book or Legend of Korra...find me.)(if you didn't read the new comic book, I will be attempting to fit pieces of it into this)

* * *

><p>Four days before the ball. Azula still wasn't going, I wasn't going to make her, and Zuko was not happy. I walked on pins and needles through the palace that morning, trying not to run into Zuko, Aang, Mai, anyone. Fire lilies were in vases in every hallway, and on my way to pick up Azula's lunch, I slipped one out and hid it in my sleeve until I could get the tray to lay it on.<p>

"It's a good thing you're a king," a voice said. "You'd make a horrible thief."

I turned around. Mai leaned against the wall next to another vase. Her dark red robes blended in perfectly with her background. "One flower won't be too missed, will it?" I answered.

She shook her head. "There's nineteen in every vase, but they aren't counted." She stood up straight and came closer to me, crossing her arms over her chest. "Speaking of the flowers, there was supposed to be a bunch delivered to Azula's room first thing this morning, but when her chambermaids showed up with them, a vase was already there. Do you know anything about that?"

I nodded. "I thought they would cheer her up."

"I feel like you're making more progress than you're telling Zuko about," she mused, petting one of the flower petals. "To be honest, I don't blame you. No one likes the way he handles Azula, but no one else wants to do it either."

"I won't be getting her to the ball, if that's what you're wondering," I said.

"I don't care about the ball," she responded. "Azula hates it, and I hate getting dressed up for nothing. What I want to know is why you're still doing this."

Why was I still trying to figure this all out? I'd definitely invested the time and effort; a positive outcome would be nice. Azula was doing much better than when we met a week and a half ago. Something was drawing me to her though. She was so hard to understand and so interesting to watch.

"Why not?" I answered.

She rolled her eyes. "I will never understand you Earth Kingdom people."

Mai let me pass after that, and I retreated to the kitchen then walked as carefully and quickly as I could to Azula's room with her lunch.

Azula wasn't alone when I reached her room this time. Zuko was there along with a stout, older woman that stood back a few steps from him. Azula sat on the edge of the bed with her hands folded in her lap and her eyes hardened in frustration as the Fire Lord spoke to her.

"We have this conversation every year," he was saying. "Can you just try the dress on?"

She raised her eyebrows at him, clearly stating that she was not trying the dress on if it was going to save her life.

I tried to sneak in behind him and set the tray of food down without his notice.

"Would you rather have a new dress made?" Zuko tried next.

I glanced over my shoulder to watch Azula roll her eyes.

"Azula, you can't keep doing this to yourself," he claimed. "How hard is it for you to be a princess?"

The china plate clanked against the edge of the tray as I set it down on the table. I froze.

Azula stood from her bed and walked away from Zuko and toward me without a word. As she neared, I could see the tears sitting in her eyes. I knew exactly how hard it was for her to be a princess.

"Zuko," I said, standing up straight, "I can talk to her about the dress."

Now he became the silent one and gave me a deep, angry glare.

"It's just a dress," I shrugged. "Does it matter who gets her into it?"

He turned on his heel and left, the woman following him out in a frantic hobble. When the door shut, I looked back to Azula. The tears were gone, but she poked at her food instead of eating it.

"What's this about a dress?" I asked, touching her arm.

She sighed. "That dress," she said, gesturing towards the corner that had the mannequin in it. "I don't want to make more work for that old woman if I'm not going to wear it." She dropped her arm and took a bite of the pig-chicken and noodles.

I took a second look at the dress. The woman with Zuko must've been a seamstress. "What work would she have to do? Wasn't it made for you?"

She nodded then swallowed before speaking. "Two years ago. I'm not exactly the same size anymore."

"What happened?" I asked. "You weren't always this way."

Azula walked over to the glass case and picked up a key from the top. "My family," she said, unlocking the case and pulling one of the jewelry pieces from it. "What is the first thing you think of when you see this?" She held up the gold armband with the flame cut-out on it.

"I don't know," I answered, trying not to think too hard or long about it. "If I see it, it's usually on something from Zuko."

"It's supposed to be a symbol of country, of my country," she explained, her tone dropping a little with disappointment. "But when the people in the Fire Nation see it, they don't think of country. They think of Zuko and me, and my parents and grandparents. And the people outside of the Fire Nation still see the war and my father." She came back over to where I stood and added, "This flame is like a scar for me. It's a scar of my horrible family that I'll never be able to get rid of."

"What are you talking about?"

She sighed, handing me the armlet. "My father the tyrant, my mother the traitor, my uncle the deserter, my brother the wuss."

I laughed at the last one, running my thumb across the row of topaz stones. It really was an exquisite piece, but it felt a lot heavier than I would've expected.

"It's true," she claimed. "All of them. That's what my people see when they look at the flame. Not to mention me, and everything I've done and everything I am now."

"Azula, there's nothing wrong with you," I said. "To be fair, there's always a few black koala-sheep in every family. I mean, my great-grandfather had thirteen wives, and ten of them were his cousins."

"My great-grandfather started a war that lasted one hundred years."

I set the armband down on the table. Azula was always reminding me of everything her presence made me forget. "What can I do to help you let go of all of this?"

She sat down on the couch with a frustrated sigh and picked up her chopsticks. "It's not as easy as you might think so," she snapped. "I can't just let go of my entire bloodline."

"Neither could my great-grandfather," I joked. When she didn't laugh and began focusing on the pile of noodles on her plate instead, I added, "Can we at least put it to the side for a while?"

"I think I need to stop talking to you again," she said between bites. "You understood me a lot better."

"Azula, listen to me," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder and sitting next to her. "Your family may not look so great on the surface, but there is so much passion and determination behind every single one of you."

She whipped around to look at me, about to object.

"Not all of it was justly guided," I continued, "but none of you ever gave up on whatever it was you wanted."

"You're the only one who sees it that way," she muttered. "All I see is a bunch of people that didn't think things through because they were so blinded by ambition or power or something else."

"Perspective changes everything," I said. "If that's how you see it, then what were you so blinded by?"

"What does it matter? I don't have whatever it was I wanted." She began poking at her meal again.

I didn't answer right away. Whatever she'd wanted obviously wasn't so simple as power or even world domination. She would've told me if she had wanted to rule. Although power was something she didn't have. Ruling was something she would be good at, even in a time of peace.

"You know, my offer still stands to come help me in the Earth Kingdom," I offered.

She rolled her eyes. "You really don't want me to do that."

"I just thought maybe getting away from here might help," I said to try and cover up that I thought she might want power. "But I think what you wanted does matter, because not having it obviously upsets you."

Azula stood from the couch and paced toward her bed. She turned on her heel to face me. "Do you know what I want?" she snapped. "I want a family! I want a family that can get along and doesn't try to kill each other! I want people that respect me and treat me like a human being instead of a monster!"

The tears built up in her eyes as she yelled, and when she finished, they spilled over and she collapsed back onto her bed. "Not that there's anything you can do about that," she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes with her palms.

I got up and approached her bed and then sat on the edge just close enough for me to reach her shoulder, but I didn't.

"Azula," I offered gently, "I respect you."

"Please don't pity me," she whimpered and turned onto her side to face away from me.

"I'm not pitying you," I said. My fingers began to trace the dragon pattern on her comforter. "I wouldn't say the things I do if I didn't mean them."

"Oh please," she rejected. "You're only doing this because Zuko told you to."

"That's not it at all." I ran my hand lightly over her arm. "I offered to do this for Zuko, but I keep coming here every day because I want to see you."

She fell onto her back again, and I pulled my hand away. "Why?"

I shrugged. "You're interesting and funny. I like learning things about you; you're so full of surprises. Watching you is like watching the sunset over Lake Laogai."

"Please don't talk about that place," she shuttered.

"It's a different place without the prison below it," I pointed out.

Azula sighed and pushed herself up. "I figured. I painted it." She left her bed and picked through a stack of canvases leaning against a wall. When she found the right one, she held it up. The lake at sunset. Still water, solid mountains, darkened by the orange sun resting in the trough of two rocky peaks with the sky the colors of fire. An edge of blackish purple night blended in at the top. "Peaceful sun gives way to blackened night" was scripted below.

"It's stunning," I said, even though all her paintings were. "Why the lake?"

She put her arms down so the painting rested on her legs and looked to her ceiling before answering. "It was a prison," she explained. "Even with the mountains, the lake itself is still imprisoned. I felt imprisoned here, and some days I still do." She shook her head and tried to hide a smirk. "You know, I spent more time in prisons than should be healthy for a fourteen-year-old girl, even if I was a princess."

I nodded and took a moment to make sure I understood. The lake made sense. Even before the secret underground Dai Li headquarters, the lake had been named for its secluded location. She had imprisoned herself, but prison is still prison. The words didn't seem to fit though.

"Why the sunset?" I asked. "Why those words?"

She flipped the painting around to look at it. "Part of being a firebender, I suppose. The sun gives us power, and the moon gives power to the waterbenders. The Avatar's girlfriend, the waterbender, she was really the only one whom I didn't like fighting. Then she froze me in a block of ice to chain me down like a savage. I deserved it of course, but water is like a prison to me now, too."

All this talk about prisons made me wonder if Azula had ever gotten out much, completely free of everything. "I think you need a vacation," I decided aloud, changing the subject. She rested the painting back on her legs and gave me a sassy stare that I had practically ignored her confession. "To be free of people," I explained, "free of walls, free of city smog, free of everything."

Azula leaned the painting back with the others and came over to stand in front of me. "Why do you think that?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"If you feel imprisoned, escape," I said.

"It's not that simple," she argued.

"You say that too much," I told her. "I'm royalty, and so are you, and we both know that no one is going to stop us from doing anything."

"I don't know what kind of kingdom you're running," she snapped, "but this one has rules."

I chuckled. Her face had started to turn pink from her ridiculous arguing in a way that was both cute and amusing. "I know all about rules," I said. "In fact, if we were in my country, I would be breaking seven rules right now."

"I doubt that," she scoffed. "Name them."

"Well, most importantly, you know my first name," I started. "It's been tradition for hundreds of years that when a king is crowned, he practically gives up his first name to be called 'your majesty' and the like."

"Six more," she teased.

"Well, a man would never be allowed into a lady's bedroom unless they were married," I continued. "He wouldn't even be allowed into her chambers of any kind unless they were related or at least engaged. We don't have a chaperon. I'm here without sending you a proper written notice two days in advance. Neither of us are dressed appropriately to be in the presence of one another. And lastly, I'm not allowed to make friends with any of the children or siblings of any other nation's leader. Especially those of the opposite gender."

Azula's eyebrows raised in astonishment. "Why the last one?"

"Something about tainting the bloodline and threatening the long-standing tradition of the Earth Kingdom."

"I can see why you're not married yet," she concluded, uncrossing her arms and placing her hands on her hips. "It sounds like too much work just to meet a girl."

"It does," I replied nonchalantly. "But if I'd ever wanted to be married, those rules wouldn't have meant anything to me."

"And no one would stop you?"

I shook my head. "I'm the king; I have advisors, not police officers. No one really stops me from doing anything."

"So why aren't you married?" she prodded.

I shrugged. "There are other things to worry about now without having a wife to worry about, too."

She rolled her eyes. "Seeing as we're royalty, there will always be other things to worry about."

"What brought on all these questions?" I asked to get the focus off of me. She'd used my own thought against me.

"You amuse me," she said lightly. "A king as polished and proper as yourself doesn't seem like someone that would break rules."

"If I may say so," I mused, "as fiery and rebellious as you are, I didn't expect you to be one that followed rules."

She glowered at me as a pink blush rose in her cheeks and her arms fell to her sides.

"You still haven't really answered my question though," I said, trying not to smile but failing slightly. "Where did all your curiosity about my not being married come from?"

Her blush became redder. "You're twenty-three," she claimed. "It seems strange that you would have all these rules and not one of them is an age to be married by."

"I don't make the rules."

"You don't seem to do much of anything," she snapped.

"And you do?" I retorted.

Her anger melted away, and I instantly felt bad for what I'd said. I was afraid she would break down again, or worse, I could've destroyed our entire friendship and everything I'd accomplished with her.

I held a hand up to gently touch her arm. "Azula, I didn't mean that," I started to say.

She grabbed onto my shoulders and pressed her lips against mine, stopping me from finishing my apology. My mind went blank; I barely knew what was happening, nonetheless what I should do. It wasn't a moment before Azula broke away and stood up straight, her eyes wider than I'd ever seen before.

"I'm so sorry," she sputtered. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"No, it's okay," I said, then patted the space next to me. "Sit down; you look like you're going to faint."

She sat down and covered her pale face with her hands. "I never know what I'm thinking anymore," she admitted, her voice muffled. "I really am sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," I insisted.

"Of course I do," she argued, a sort of panic in her voice. "I just...you know. I didn't even ask!"

I laughed, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "What has gotten into you?"

She jolted a little when I touched her, but she relaxed after a moment and took her hands away from her face. "You," she said. "Ever since you showed up, all the things I keep to myself just keep coming out, and all the things I actually mean to do evaporate from me or something."

I smiled. "I'm sorry I have that effect on you," I said. She shook nervously under my arm, and she looked everywhere in the room except at me. Her hands pulled at the ends of her silken waistband. "But come on, take a deep breath. I'm really not that interesting."

Azula took a few long breaths before she spoke again. The shaking had stopped, and she'd let go of the waistband. "I feel like I'm falling apart again," she said. "And I don't understand why, but I almost want to."

Was she really saying these things to me? That I had caused all this? What had I done that was so special? I certainly hadn't been trying to attract her to me; I just wanted to make her happy without upsetting Zuko too much. Maybe she was attracted to my actions, and not me personally. She never seemed to care for me before, so what reason would she have to start now other than I'd been doing good things for her?

"Where did all this come from?" I asked. I still smiled, because her emotional tizzy was so unlike her, it was funny in a cute way.

"I don't know," she repeated. "You just… I don't know." She shook her head like doing so would put all her thoughts back in order. "You don't treat me like everyone else does. I can actually believe that you care about me, but for the life of me, I don't know why you do."

I shrugged. "Because walls are walls," I tried to explain. "And people are people. If I cared about my walls like they were people, I would start treating people like walls, and people don't like to be treated like walls." I paused for a minute, and she looked up at me, so I continued. "I know you don't believe me, but I couldn't care less about what happened to those walls a long time ago. I couldn't care more for you though."

"Why?" she pleaded.

I fought back a laugh. "Why not?" I answered. "You're probably the most interesting person I've met. You're bright and funny, and I really have enjoyed the past two weeks with you."

She sighed and tilted her head to one side. Did she think I was lying?

"Really," I said. "When you aren't a bender, people who are get boring fairly quickly."

She stifled a snicker.

"And you're pretty," I added, a little embarrassed. "I've always thought that about you."

Her cheeks began to turn pink again, but she had calmed much more. "You know what the strangest part about all this is?" she practically whispered.

"What?"

"I've been thinking," she started, "about the ball. I'm considering going, even though I don't want to give in to Zuko. I'd find a way to still not have to talk to him, you know."

Had I really convinced Azula to go to this ball? I had told her flat out that I had no intentions of succeeding in Zuko's wishes. I never did anything with the purpose of maybe getting her to put on the act of being a normal princess again. Azula had never been a normal princess though. She wasn't even a normal person; she was much better and more fun.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked.

She picked up the end of her waistband again, nervously flipping the tail end in her hand. "Well, it sounds silly, but..." She sighed. "If I go, I would want you to dance with me."

The most normal things about Azula she considered silly. The lilies, dancing. I realized my arm was still around her, but I didn't move. "I would be more than happy to dance with you," I told her. "But you don't have to go to the ball if you really don't want to."

"I don't know," she said, brushing her feet across the floor. "If you're going to dance with me, it might be worth going."

"We could dance right now, if you don't want to go," I offered. What was I thinking? My whole purpose in this was to get her to go to the ball. When I thought I couldn't do that, it wasn't a big deal. Now here she was, telling me she would go, and I was trying to get her out of it. Why? Because she didn't want to go. Azula just wanted to dance with me. And I was finding that I wanted to dance with her. I certainly didn't want that to happen at some event she didn't want to be at, where she was the center of attention; it would be awkward and uncomfortable.

She laughed. "You're so backwards," she said. "Isn't your point of being here to get me to this party?"

I nodded. "That's what Zuko thinks, but I'd rather see you happy than at the ball." I paused, then added, "Unless you were happy at the ball. I suppose that's the ideal situation."

Her laughing had stopped, but her smile stayed. "If I could get through the first part, when I'm presented with my gift," she said, "I could be happy." She glanced at the mannequin in the corner. "That necklace is heavy though."

"You already know what you gift is?" Since Aang's story of her disappearing from the party after being given the armband, I had begun to wonder why that necklace with nineteen stones sat on the mannequin.

It was her turn to nod. "Zuko started giving it to me a few weeks early since the whole armband thing, thinking I could get used to it before and put myself together to have it presented to me." She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't the armband as a piece of jewelry that bothered me. It's what it stands for and means to me that set me off."

"I know," I said. "But Zuko didn't make the thing."

"He had some say in this one," she argued, glancing over at the armlet on the table. "The topaz couldn't have been planned by my mom. He was dead set on getting me to firebend again at the time, so I guess whatever stones were there were changed." Her tone shifted from angry to flustered as she mentioned her firebending. When she had finished, her eyes were back on her hands, folded in her lap, one on top of the other, palms up. Those hands had done everything.

I stopped to think. The light blue stones glowed in their gold setting. Azula being a firebender barely seemed possible to me; she hadn't used her power since the war. And even then, I hadn't witnessed too much of it. Just one flame. One threat on my life. I had nightmares for months about it. The heat from the flame so close to my face, my neck. It's eerie blue color. The longest seconds of my life when I didn't know if the next ones would come for me. And then the threat was gone. I don't even remember being pushed to the floor, just the cold marble on my cheek. And yet the coolness had been no comfort from the heat.

I had been a tool. Hardly a tool. I was more like a low branch she just had to push out of her way. And she did. But now, wrapped in my arm, one carefully worded statement away from falling over the edge, she was my tool. I just had to push.

Except I couldn't. I didn't dare. I hated myself for the thought even crossing my mind. I pulled Azula into my arms, trapping her in the tightest hug I could manage. She rested her chin over my shoulder, not questioning and definitely not protesting.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, her arms hugging me in return.

"Me," I answered. I ran my hand over her silky, raven hair. "I should hate you, but I can't."

She laughed, leaning her warm cheek against my neck. "You're so weird," she jabbed. I knew she was smiling though. Her arms squeezed me tighter. "I wish we never had to let go," she breathed, the cool air from her lips tickling my skin.

I loosened my grip and sat back enough to stir her from my shoulder and look up at me. A subtle pout fell across her face. "Then how could I do this?" I said, placing my hand under her chin and carefully pulling her toward me again. "May I?" I whispered, our noses nearly touching.

"Yes," she replied.

Our lips met. Hers so soft and sweet, I felt as if they could dissolve away. I could feel her smile as I hugged her closer to me. She clasped her hands on the back of my neck, and a warmth from her spread through me. Her body curled perfectly into mine.

Azula gently broke away. "I'll go to the ball," she murmured. "I want to go. I want you to be my escort."

I looked down at her snuggled in my arms. "You know that's not why I did any of this, right?"

She nodded. "That's exactly why I want to go."

I smiled. "Then of course I'll take you."

Azula pressed the side of her face to my chest and sighed. "Do you have any idea what it's like to have something you've wanted for a long time?"

"No," I answered. Maybe I had, but I didn't feel like taking the time to think of when and what it was. What Azula had wanted was much better.

"It's like being a little kid and getting dessert after dinner," she described. "The first bite of something sweet and wonderful that washes out whatever bad taste was left in your mouth."

I tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Where do you think of this stuff?" I said with a smirk.

"Well, when you're as picky of an eater as I was, dessert is something you remember a lot of," she said.

"I don't think I'll ever have a dessert as sweet as you are," I told her.

The pink tint of Azula's blush appeared in her cheeks again. Sweet. It was something no one else would describe Azula as. And I think she was starting to believe me.

By the time Zuko returned with the seamstress, we had gone back to our more normal routine of reading. This time we shared the couch, and Azula shifted between two or three positions of leaning against me. When we heard the door unlatch, she was leaned against my shoulder with her legs curled up to her chest and the book held out in front of her at a distance I wasn't sure she could actually be reading from. She moved to lean against the opposite arm of the couch as her brother appeared into the room with his hands folded behind his back. The seamstress kept the same distance between her and him as earlier, and her eyes stayed on the floor.

"Have we made a decision?" Zuko asked with a tone that seemed more appropriate for a five-year-old than a young woman.

Azula glanced up from her book, closed it, and looked to me. She wasn't going to talk him; I thought maybe she'd have to if she was going to the ball. Her eyes glazed over at the sight of her brother.

"She'll try the dress on," I said, trying to sound like the unbiased middleman I hoped Zuko would think I was.

He nodded. My talking for Azula seemed to irritate him by the tightness of his jaw.

I closed my book and set it on the table as I stood, hoping this conversation was over and Zuko could yell at me or whatever he wanted out in the hall. The seamstress hobbled over to the dress in the corner of Azula's room and began to brush the dust off. Azula stood and slowly crossed the room to assist the woman. Her face had turned pale again; the dress had slipped her mind for awhile. I hated to leave her and face the fitting alone, but I didn't know what else to do except slip out with Zuko.

We walked a few yards down the hallway before he spoke. "How did you do it?"

I glanced over at him for a second. "Do what, exactly?"

"Convince her to go," he clarified. "No offense, but I didn't think you were actually going to succeed. Azula is very stubborn about these kinds of things."

"I listened," I explained simply.

"She doesn't speak," he reminded me. Then the realization came across his face. "You got her to talk, too, didn't you?"

It was my turn to nod. "Yes, but there's a lot to listen to in silence." When he didn't respond, I added, "That's kind of how she started talking to me. A little bit, anyway."

"What has she told you?"

I mulled it over a minute, trying not to raise suspicion that I knew a lot more than he would find out. "That she would try the dress on," I said first. "And that she'd stopped talking because no one listened."

That sounded fair to both Azula and Zuko. I hoped that Zuko might feel guilty for the way he treated her, although their relationship was beyond repair at this point.

"What do you mean?" he said. "She stopped talking because of the stupid armlet. Did she tell you what's wrong with that thing?"

She did. "No," I answered. "What armlet?"

So Zuko told the story from his side. He explained all the jewelry, that his mother had wanted Azula to remember how beautiful she was and how much she loved her. Azula had been right about the topaz stones though; they had been rubies, but Zuko changed them to encourage her to start firebending again.

"I hated how good she was all my life," he explained. "But she just kept getting sadder and sadder, and I thought maybe if she started firebending again it would help."

The way Azula looked at her hands earlier came back to my mind. "Zuko," I said more seriously, "Azula will probably never firebend again. She's just as haunted by what she did as her victims are."

He shuttered and kept walking. "Just be glad you weren't one of them," he spat.

I thought to tell him the truth, but it wouldn't help me build my case later when I had to tell him about being Azula's escort. And how I felt about her.


	6. Part Cinq

Sorry for the length between updates...also, this section is somehow drastically shorter than the last two. (a tad less dramatic as well)

My plan is to have this all finished before I haul off to school. So updates will hopefully get closer and closer together :D

Disclaimer: I do not own this guys (although it'd be pretty awesome if I did)

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><p>The next morning, more servants and guards were in the hallways. When I came to the kitchen to pick up Azula's lunch, the cooks had forgotten about it in preparing for dinner for the Kyoshi Warriors upon their arrival as extra security. The maids that had helped me with the flower vase felt bad about the mistake and packed a few extra things into a picnic basket. Carrying the basket to Azula's room made me wonder if we could get around all the bustle and have lunch outside.<p>

Azula wasn't doing anything when I came in. She was spread out on the couch, playing with her hair that hung free today. I smiled as I went over to her. "What are you up to?" I asked.

She sat upright and answered, "Nothing. What have you got there?"

I noticed she had her eyes on the basket. "A sort-of lunch," I explained. "Want to take it outside?"

Her lips curled upward in a playful smile. "Let's do it," she said, standing. "I need to get out of here."

We climbed out her window as we had before, and Azula laced her fingers with mine as we began heading towards the orchards.

"So, how did the dress altering go?" I asked, nudging her shoulder with mine as we walked.

She sighed. "I hate myself."

"Come on," I coaxed. "It couldn't have been too bad. I'm sure you'll look absolutely stunning."

"That's not it." She kicked a pebble with her toe and watched it skid off the path. "The dress is another story. I'm mad because of how I treated myself the past few years. I mean, just look at me."

I glanced over at her, trying not to stare too long at any one feature. Her robe hung loosely over her frame, and the belt cinched tightly in the middle to reveal her skinny waist. Her hands were small and a little boney; her feet bare. Her hair swayed gently back and forth with her steps, and a few shorter sections curled around her ears and touched the corner of her jaw bone. "Azula, you look fine."

She didn't. To be honest, people outside of the palace probably wouldn't recognize the sickly, transparent-skinned girl that walked beside me as their princess that had been so cruel and vicious. Her will was still there though. She was still strong; it had just faded for a while. Azula could get out of the mess she'd put herself in. There wasn't anything she couldn't fix. She had even said she could, she just didn't want to. Now, it was starting to look like she wanted to. That was more beautiful than any dress.

"No," she mumbled. "No, I don't. I look like the hollow monster I am."

I stopped walking and waited a moment for her to stop and turn around. The tears sat on her bottom lids, held in by the curl of her eyelashes.

"Please don't tell me I'm pretty and that nothing is wrong," she begged. "I saw my face in the mirror yesterday; I saw everything. There is nothing on me that says I am okay."

"Azula, yes there is." I set the picnic basket down and held my arms out to her for a hug. "It's in your eyes and your smile. You have to trust me on this."

Azula stepped into my arms and pressed her cheek to my chest. Her ribs were easy to feel under her silken robe, but I tried not to notice them so much. They would disappear with time. For now though, I took her hands and spun her a few times before dropping her into a low dip. She didn't have time to process what had happened, but when she looked up at me, she smiled and started to laugh. The tears were gone.

"I knew I picked a good dance partner," she teased as I helped her back up. "Where did you learn this?"

I picked up the picnic basket. "Well, since they weren't going to fill my head with the war, they had to fill it with something else."

Azula took my hand again as we continued to walk towards the orchards. "You know, I think you make a good politician," she said. "I don't know why you think you're doing such an awful job."

Maybe this was how Azula felt when I told her she was beautiful. I wanted so much to agree with her and believe what she had said was true, but I couldn't. Azula was a great liar, but I was pretty sure no one would believe the one she'd just told.

"I don't do anything," I answered. "You said so yourself yesterday."

"It could be worse," she shrugged. "You could do too much."

"At least I'd be doing something."

She lightly elbowed me. "You do a lot of things."

"It's all mostly little stuff," I pointed out. "You have no idea what happens when I try to do something bigger than cut a ribbon to open a new monorail system."

She laughed. "And how do your people like the new monorail system?"

"Well, other than the earthbenders that are now unemployed, they like it pretty well. There's just not much I can do to get those benders another job." The new monorail system was a test of an idea from the mechanist and some now-retired Fire Nation army technicians: a system run on motors and various steam and fire power instead of the earthbending trolley-pushers. The cars moved faster and smoother, but the trolley-pushers didn't have another job they were properly trained for.

"You'll think of something," she said, pulling me down a row of apple trees in full bloom. "What about the blind girl, Toph? Can she do something with them?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. She spends most of her time in Yu Dao with her metalbending academy."

A light flashed in Azula's eyes, something like excitement. "Could she train them to be metalbenders?"

"I suppose, but I don't know what the world needs with a bunch of metalbenders. I'm not sure how kindly the people would take to uprooting their entire families just to learn to metalbend, either."

Azula stopped in front of a tree with branches that dipped low from years of holding up heavy boughs of fruit. "We'll think of a purpose along the way, but it's a start. As far as the people, so long as you offered them a space to live and free or dramatically cheap training, the ones that want the opportunity will take it, and those that stay stubborn have nothing to complain about. I mean, it won't be that simple entirely, but it's an idea."

As we sat down and Azula retrieved a roll from the picnic basket, I thought about what she'd said. Toph had been talking about how well her students were doing since she'd solved the mystery of that first successful move. I didn't know what it took to be a metalbender, but it was definitely something to be looked into.

"How do you think of this stuff?" I asked as I grabbed my own roll from the basket.

Azula tore a piece of bread off of her roll. "I don't know. I just remember a lot of things." Then she popped the piece into her mouth.

"Are you positive you don't want to come to Ba Sing Se with me?" I said before taking a bite out of the still-warm bread.

A look of pondering came across her face as Azula finished the first bite of roll and had a few more. "As much as I don't think it's a good place for me, I don't think here is a better one. It couldn't be much worse, could it?"

"I'd do everything I could to make sure you were protected and understood," I promised. "Besides, if we're supposed to be leaders, shouldn't we be setting an example? If we want our people to get along, we should show them we can."

A smile crossed her lips. "You spend a lot of time with my uncle, don't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"People don't just speak in proverbs," she teased. "Also, you're much better at it than my brother."

I smiled. "I stop by his tea shop a few times a week."

"You are very right though, about us needing to get along." she said. "But you don't need my help."

I placed my fingertips on her cheek so she'd look at me. "Azula, I'm not asking for your help because I need it. I'm asking because I want you. All of you."

She blushed and tried to look away. "My brother is going to think you're crazy."

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

Her smile widened. "No. But I don't know how much you should trust the opinion of a crazy person."

"Her's is the only opinion that matters to me."

I pulled her closer to me for a kiss, one that lasted a few moments longer than yesterday. When we broke apart, Azula leaned against my shoulder. "So how many rules were we breaking there?" she murmured.

I remembered the roll in my hand and brought it up for another bite as I tried to count the different rules for me when I was with a lady. "Plenty," I answered. "Probably close to all of them."

She laughed. "You're the king; you should change some of these rules."

"I could, but then it wouldn't be as fun to break them."

Azula broke off another piece of bread from her half-eaten roll and brought it up to her mouth with a satisfied smile. "You know, I think it's time I mend a few broken things of my own."

"What is it that needs fixing?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It's just that if I'm really going to leave here, I should probably leave on good terms with my brother, don't you think?"

I looked down at her still leaned against me. Was she really going to try and repair her relationship with Zuko? I didn't think something so destroyed could be fixed, especially in a few days, but stranger things had happened recently.

"Of course I think so," I agreed. "What made you decide that?"

"It's just that I'm happy now. You make me very happy, Kuei." She glanced up at me. "And I think my brother needs to hear that from me."

I didn't know what to say. I kissed her forehead and watched the blush rise in her cheeks before I finally spoke. "You make me happy, too."

"Come on, we should probably head back to the palace." She popped the last piece of her roll into her mouth. "This'll be easier if we cooperate with my brother ahead of time." Then we stood and started the walk back, hand-in-hand.

When we returned to her room, I noticed the dress on the mannequin was gone. Azula sat back on the couch and dug into the rest of the goodies in the picnic basket. "So what is the story about the dress?" I asked.

She glanced at me with a confused look as she swallowed a berry.

"You said the dress was another story," I reminded her.

Recognition came across her face and she stood. "The seamstress-she's a wonderful old woman-noticed how unhappy I was with all the alterations that had to be made." She reached into the basket for another handful of what appeared to be cherries. "There was no way she could've known that I was upset about myself and not the dress specifically, but she commented that the dress wasn't exactly in style anymore." She pulled a cherry off the stem with her teeth and paused in her story a moment as to not talk with her mouth full. "Because you know how princesses shouldn't ever be out-of-style."

I laughed. "You never seemed to be one that followed fashion trends."

"I wear the outfit for the part," she said before eating another cherry. "Anyways, the seamstress offered to make me a new dress, and when I refused, she insisted. I should have the most beautiful dress because it's my day, she told me."

I nodded. "You deserve the most beautiful dress."

"It doesn't make a difference to me what dress I wear for anything."

I tried to fight back laughing, but with no success. She rolled her eyes and swatted at my wrist. "You know, the funny thing about the Earth Kingdom is that there are two-hundred eighty-nine traditional dresses and robes for women of high rank," I explained.

Her eyes widened. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I didn't make these rules."

She'd finished her handful of cherries and reached over to smack my arm with the back of her hand. "You make absolutely no sense sometimes."

"I just thought it was a fun fact you should know." I placed my hands behind my back to avoid any more slaps. "There's about four-hundred more, if you want to hear them."

Azula half-threw herself back down on the couch so one leg draped over the curved arm. A hand fell back on her face. "Who thought all these rules and laws were a good idea?"

"Well, in the Earth Kingdom, everything has to be strong and solid," I started.

"Like a rock?" she teased.

"Exactly, like a rock." I came over and sat on the couch with her. "So for a long time, kings just kept writing rules about everything until there was nothing left to write rules about. Would you believe there's rules for writing rules?"

She snickered. "I do. We have some here, too, you know."

"Yes, but probably not on the upwards of two hundred." I took the hand over her face in mine so I could see her smiling. "But as much of a pain as all the rules can be, I don't think I've ever had a question unanswered after looking through them."

"Do you have them all in a book or something?"

I nodded. "I don't go anywhere without it."

Azula's smile faded and a look came over her face as if she were deep in thought. "You wouldn't happen to have it with you here, would you?"

"Of course."

"Could I borrow it?" she asked, pushing herself up to sit.

"You're really considering coming with me, aren't you?"

Azula wrapped her arms around one of mine as she curled up to lean against me. "Kuei, you understand me better than anyone else ever has. I couldn't imagine giving that up, giving up you."

She was so warm; she was always warm. I didn't want her to let go of me because she was so comfortably warm.

"I want to see where this goes," she said as she pressed her cheek to my shoulder.

I leaned my head on top of hers. "Me too, Azula," I answered. "Me too."


	7. Part Six

ENJOY THIS. I worked rather hard on this section. Kuei is probably my favorite minor-ish character ever.

(another note: those of you that don't know French numbers, six in French is six. The pronunciation is more like the i is an "ee" and the x is like a short "cuh" type sound. I did not just give up doing French numbers, and hopefully I taught someone something. :D)

Disclaimer: I don't own this people...

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><p>That night I spent lying awake flipping through my worn-out book of Earth Kingdom rules. Most of them were memorized; I'd been reading the thick book time and time again since I was twelve. After I'd spent so long studying them to be a king, I usually only read them when I couldn't sleep. They were boring enough to put me out every time, except tonight. It didn't matter how many long and useless rules about war meeting decorum or which letter seals got used on what letters that I scanned through. All I could think about was Azula. How she leaned against me like I was strong. How she smiled and laughed and teased me because of all my rules. She kept telling me to change them.<p>

I flipped through the yellowing pages to the section dedicated entirely to my rules concerning women. I had stopped looking them over a few years ago; there just never seemed like a good time to take off and find a bride. As I read back through them, I realized how stupid they all were. Certain clothes, certain times of day, certain menus for certain occasions, certain activities. None of them were reading all afternoon or splitting a poorly packed picnic in whatever we felt like putting on that morning. Topics for conversation didn't include shadowy pasts. One rule specifically said I wasn't allowed to talk about my rules.

Maybe mine and Azula's situation wasn't a normal one, but following all of these rules wouldn't have gotten me her if I'd been out with that goal in mind. All they would've gotten me was a doll, like one of the Joo Dee's. Maybe someone else could handle that, but I wouldn't.

A tapping on my window startled me. My first thought was an intruder, but what kind of stealthy move was tapping on a window? I got up and threw the curtains back to find Azula standing outside the window. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself and tried to smile through her chattering teeth. I flipped the latch and pushed the window open to let her in, but she refused.

"Come out here with me," she insisted. "There's something I want to show you."

"Aren't you cold?" I asked.

She nodded. "I do this all the time; I'll be fine."

I laughed. "Let me get you a coat."

"I'll be just fine," she repeated.

I shook my head and reached for one of my robes I'd left laying on the floor. When I handed it to her, she slipped it over her shoulders without question. "Come with me, please," she said. "I saw the light, and I figured if you were still awake, I could show you something."

I started to climb through the window and tried hard not to laugh. "You're the reason I couldn't sleep," I told her.

"Why do you think I'm standing outside your window?" She reached for my hand to keep me from falling flat on my face.

"What do you do out here at night?" I asked when I was on the ground.

She shrugged. "Not much. I mostly just take walks in the streets."

The streets? As in outside of the palace gates? "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Of course." Azula took both of my hands in hers and led me towards the back wall surrounding the palace grounds. "But what's life without a little danger?"

I figured since Azula felt safe enough walking the streets alone at night, we would be alright together, and I let her take me to a gate that was left unguarded and the lock had been broken long ago by what appeared to be the work of a master welder, or a firebender. "You've been doing this a long time, haven't you?" I asked when we were on the other side, and Azula was delicately arranging the lock to hide the broken spot.

She shook her head. "No, it's kind of a long story about how this all started," she explained. "But the short version is that a few months after the incident with the armlet, Zuko got really frustrated with me and spent a while yelling at me and explaining everything about me that he couldn't stand. So when it was over, I took a walk, found the gate unguarded, and I guess I was just angry enough to use some bending to break through the lock.."

"I thought you didn't firebend anymore."

Azula wrapped her hand around mine, and I could feel her cold fingertips. "I don't," she said as she began across the dark, empty street with me in tow. "Bending hurts me, but everything hurt that day."

"It hurts you to bend?" I knew she was tormented by how she'd used her bending in the past, but could it physically hurt her?

"Kind of like disappointment hurts." There were no lights in the street, but Azula walked down them without fear. She stayed focused on the path outlined only by the half-moon in the sky. "But I'd just listened to all the awful things my older brother could possibly say about me, like I was selfish for turning my back on everything, everyone. How he was so bothered by the fact that I had given up trying to be anything. Apparently giving up isn't something my family does."

Azula moved her free hand to grab onto her opposite arm at her elbow. My coat dragged slightly behind her, and suddenly she looked very small.

"There's a difference between giving up and walking away for awhile," I said to try and console her in some way.

"No, I gave up," she corrected me. "I stopped doing anything, even for myself. There just seemed no reason for it."

"What made you change your mind?" I asked. We were coming to the end of the street and would have to turn right or left.

"Company, at first," she admitted. "Just not having to sit in my room alone all day."

I smiled.

"Then to find out that you cared," she continued, glancing up at me for a second as we stopped at the street's end. I waited for her to pick a direction. "You cared about what I wanted."

We turned left.

"And I think you know the rest from there." She let go of her arm.

I didn't say anything for awhile and let her gain back her focus on the street. We turned a few more times before I asked, "So where are we going?"

"To watch the sunrise," she answered plainly. We turned right onto a wider road made of stones arranged in a pattern that made a border along the edge of road. "Over the beach."

Azula had referred to the ocean as insanity, and she'd mentioned how she didn't like Katara because of her waterbending. Wasn't she afraid of water? I didn't dare ask her since I wasn't quite used to Azula being afraid of anything. Instead, I responded with, "Isn't sunrise hours from now?"

"Only a couple," she answered as we crossed the stone road and continued toward a large structure I couldn't make out in the dim light. "We should talk about you, for a change," she added.

"If you wanted to talk about me, we should've stayed at the palace so you could've fallen asleep," I joked.

She laughed. "You're more interesting than you think you are."

"I'm starting to think you really are crazy."

The structure was the military building we had all come into the city through when we first arrived. The rocky walls around the city had been carved out so the building sat in the gap. No one came in without passing through the building, especially foreigners. Azula was leading me towards the entrance, and I slowed down a few paces.

"We're going this way?" I wondered aloud.

"I figured you didn't want to jump the sheer cliff from the top of the rocks," she said with a teasing smile. "Besides, all the on duty guards are asleep, and the off duty ones haven't gotten up yet."

How did she remember all of this stuff? How she figured it out in the first place was puzzling enough. I didn't argue, and followed her closely through the dark building. Only torches at the doors were lit, and they were dying down. Azula had been right, of course; a guard at every door was barely visible, and all of them were leaned against the wall or slumped on the ground, asleep.

Once out the door on the other side, we had to get over a wall to get to the sandy beach. Azula knew where the wall had crumbled from a storm and hadn't been fixed yet, so we climbed over the small pile of rubble there. When I knelt down in the sand to take my shoes off, I realized Azula had been barefoot the entire time.

"No shoes?" I said, and she shook her head.

"I used to train barefoot, and it's just more comfortable for me this way." She took my hand again and pulled me in the direction of the waves crashing against the beach. "It's easier to find my favorite spot if we're close to the water."

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know. "Azula, aren't you afraid of water?"

"I don't like to be in the water," she clarified. "I feel like I'm drowning, whether it's the ocean or a bathtub."

We walked along the beach a few steps away from the edge of the dry sand. Azula combed the area for her favorite spot, a small curve inward of the rocky face. The dim lighting was no help, but Azula found the spot without much trouble. In the sand, Azula leaned against my chest. She was smiling, always smiling.

"You find joy in the simplest things." I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her a little closer to me.

"The simple things are the easiest places to find joy," she said. Then she laughed. "I can speak in proverbs, too."

Azula insisted on talking about me in the hours leading up to sunrise. If I even started to ask anything, she would stop me and remind me that we weren't talking about her. She asked me everything, and the most interesting part was how much she seemed to be interested by my life.

"So how did you find Bosco?" she asked, twirling a loose strand of hair around her finger.

"I didn't find him," I explained. "A research group from the university found him as a cub on one of their expeditions."

Azula adjusted herself so she could lay her head in my lap and look up at me. "Then how did he end up with you?"

"I told you; I like unique things." She gave me a sassy look that told me that answer wasn't good enough. I sighed and started the story. "When my advisors and teachers saw that I was taking an interest in animals, they tried to amplify it as long as they could. I was thirteen at the time, so they wanted to exhaust anything that wasn't weapons and armies and ultimately, war. They brought in some of the university's zoologists, and as a gift, they brought me Bosco. He's been my best friend ever since."

An amused smile crossed her lips. "Your best friend. That's adorable."

"Well, when you don't know anyone else your own age, friends are hard to come by."

"I think it's sweet," she insisted. "Does he still live in the palace with you?"

I shook my head. "After we spent some time in the wild, and Bosco learned how to be a real bear, it was hard to keep him from his natural habitat. He has his own place now outside the city. There's a zookeeper out there that takes care of him, but I still visit him every few days."

She laughed softly. "And what about the glasses? Are they just for show?"

I usually didn't think about my glasses, so at the mention of them, I pushed them back up on my nose a little. "They're real," I told her. "I've been wearing them for years."

She seemed a little surprised by that. "How bad is your eyesight without them?"

"Not awful," I answered. There was nothing I did without them, so I wasn't exactly sure anymore. "I've just gotten so used to them, I guess I don't notice."

"Do you know what's wrong, exactly?"

"I have a hard time seeing things up close." A glow in her eyes appeared like my vision problems were the most amazing thing she'd ever heard. "One of my teachers noticed it when I was really young that I always held books and papers farther away to read them."

"So what about all the stuff they used to distract you from the war?" she asked next.

"They weren't distracting me from it; they were hiding it from me." I ran my hand across her forehead to brush the hair from her eyes. "And mostly they just kept teaching me things. I liked to read, and that helped them a lot."

"What all did they teach you?" she pressed. "Besides ballroom dancing and zoology."

I laughed. "Ancient history, astrology, mathematics. Literature was a big one. I spent a lot of time just learning how to be a king."

Azula grabbed my hand in both of hers. "If you didn't have to be the Earth King, what would you do?"

"What makes you ask that?"

She shrugged. "It's just that you spent so much time exploring other things, what would you pick if you could do anything else?"

"I don't know; I've never given it much thought." I gave her a sly glance. "What would you do?"

"I asked you first," she pointed out. "Besides, we're not talking about me."

"That's right," I said. "I already know what you would do anyway."

Azula raised her eyebrows at me. "And what is that?"

"Travel the world, visit libraries, and read every romance novel in existence."

She lightly jabbed me with her elbow, but she was smiling. "You don't think I'd paint, too?"

"Of course you would, when inspiration struck." I started running my thumb across the back of her hand.

"Alright, alright," she said. "Since you seem to have me all figured out, I get to guess what you would do if you weren't the Earth King."

I didn't have the slightest clue what I would do, so her guess was as good as mine.

"You would start a family," she decided. "And own a bookstore. You'd teach your kids to be honest, just like you."

"I don't know about honesty." I pinched her side, and she bolted upright with a squeal. "I'd be having an affair with the pretty Fire Nation girl that kept coming into my store when she was in town."

"The Earth King is talking about an affair?" Azula grabbed at my side and made me jump. "Your majesty, I think you've read one too many trashy romance novels."

"I thought I wasn't the Earth King in this conversation," I teased.

"Only if I'm not the Fire Princess." Azula wrapped her arms around my neck. "Because I'd rather be anything else in the world."

"No matter what you are, you'll be the same Azula to me." I pulled her a little closer.

She leaned in and placed her lips on mine. Azula seemed to fit so perfectly in my arms. I didn't want to let go, and I didn't want to stop kissing her, feeling her warm breath on my skin. Time disappeared; everything disappeared except us.

After a while, Azula pulled away and pressed her hand to my face. "This is the strangest birthday I've ever had," she whispered. "But it's probably the best one."

I pushed her hair back off her face. She smiled and leaned into my hand. "I'm glad," I said gently.

"Thank you," she said, "for hearing me."

I smiled now, too. "No, thank you for opening up. I know it's been hard."

She hugged me tightly and buried her face in my chest. "It's easier with you," she said.

Two weeks ago, I was sitting in a meeting, watching a bouquet of candles in the middle of the table slowly melt, thinking about everything except what was being talked about. Everything except the meeting and the beautiful princess that was now wrapped in my arms. Now, I couldn't imagine not holding onto her or hearing her sweet voice. I held her as tightly as she held me, taking in a deep breath of her rosy-scented skin.

"You know, I think I can memorize two-hundred eighty-nine dresses," she teased. "Does that include pajamas?"

"It doesn't." I ran my hand over her hair. "There's a whole new set of rules for those."

Azula pulled herself up to look at me. "You have got to be kidding me."

I laughed. "I am, don't worry. There are pajama rules, but not the kind you're probably thinking of."

A look of realization came across her face. She pushed my shoulder lightly. "You better still be joking."

"I'm not." She pushed me again, this time a little harder. I kept laughing. "Are you embarrassed by that?"

"Of course not," she snapped. "Just surprised."

"I didn't write them, if that makes you feel better." I picked up her hand so she couldn't hit me again.

"I know that." Azula relaxed and leaned back against me. "Although I am starting to think you've read more of my trashy novels than the sweet and innocent ones."

"I'm just being honest with you," I said in light defense.

She smiled. "You really are honest," she said, reaching to take hold of my hand. "I know you haven't lied to me, and I trust that you never will, even if the truth wasn't what I wanted to hear."

"I do my best not to lie to people." I squeezed her hand before lacing my fingers with hers. "I spent most of my life being lied to, and it hurt me so much I try not to do the same to anyone else."

Azula didn't answer right away. She brought our hands up to her face and kissed the back of mine. "You know, one thing that seems pretty constant in our lives is lies. We get deceived, and we deceive others. I know I've lied to you in the past, Kuei, and I'd like to apologize for that."

"You don't have to apologize for anything." I pulled her into my lap and held her tight to me. "It's forgotten to me."

"Alright, I'll let it go," she murmured. "But I've been lied to like you have. I want you to know that, because it still hurts me."

"Azula," I breathed, "you feel so much. I wish you had happier emotions to feel."

"I do," she answered. "With you."

I couldn't find words to say to that. I leaned down and kissed her cheek, feeling her smile.

"Look," she whispered, "the sun's coming up."

I looked to the water, and the smallest fraction of light was beginning to poke up on the horizon. We sat back in silence as we watched the sun slowly pull itself up in show of brilliant oranges, yellows, and pinks. The best part was watching the light fill Azula's face and how her golden eyes shone in it. She was her own little flame.

When the sun was sitting on top of the horizon line, Azula suggested we head back before they noticed we'd been gone. Back in the city streets, merchants were setting up for the day, and Azula held onto my arm as we walked. She pressed the side of her face into my sleeve as if hiding from the people around us.

"So what does the princess want for her birthday?" I asked.

"Please don't call me that," she whispered. "Not out here, or ever, if that's alright with you."

I laughed. "Afraid someone is going to recognize you?"

"No, I just don't like to be called that." She stood up straight and shook her hair off her face. "And I don't want anything for my birthday."

"Don't make this hard for me," I told her.

"I'm not making it hard for you." Azula pinched at my arm. "I'm making it very easy. You don't have to get me anything. I'm already getting a new dress and a fancy necklace. What else could I possibly want?"

"Something of your actual interest," I offered.

"Please don't trouble yourself with getting me a gift," she said. "I really don't want to make a bigger deal out of my birthday than I have to."

"Alright, nothing too fancy." I looked to the road in front of us, seeing the ornate palace come into view. We snuck in the same way we had snuck out, and I walked Azula back to the window of her bedroom.

"Am I going to see you for lunch?" she asked through a yawn.

"Of course." I cupped my hand around her cheek. "Why don't you take a nap in the meantime?"

She smiled. "Alright, but you, too."

"Don't worry. I should be able to sleep now." I wrapped her in a hug, and we shared a short kiss before I headed back to my room.


	8. Part Sept

Eight pages in a Word document. I apologize for the length. Hope you enjoy "part sept!" (small note: I have this thing called homework that eats up roughly 20 hours of my week, so I didn't exactly read through this one last time like I usually do and there may very well be typos. If so...I wouldn't mind if you kindly brought them to my attention)

Disclaimer: ...I do not own these characters...they belong to the almighty rulers of animation, Mike and Bryan.

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><p>The day before Azula's birthday, and her big party. Between the various servants running around, Kyoshi Warriors at almost every door, and out-of-town nobles arriving, there was barely room to breathe. I was used to having a palace practically to myself, so one this terribly busy I couldn't handle. Besides, I still hadn't gotten Azula her birthday present, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't come across one inside the walls.<p>

Before I tried to make my escape, I took a walk through the palace amidst the people. It sort of built me an alibi in case anyone came looking for me. Down one hallway, Sokka was catching up with a group of Kyoshi Warriors. Another way, a couple male servants were giving some young maids a hard time about their flower arrangements. Through the courtyard, there were gardeners raking fallen leaves, trimming bushes, and watering flowers. I was about to make my way towards a back door when I saw Zuko with Mai, Katara, and Toph at the bottom of an ornate staircase. The girls were all laughing, and it seemed to be at Zuko's expense.

"You've said that the past two years," Katara was insisting. "What makes this year any different?"

Toph had been playing with her meteorite bracelet, but she stopped and bent the material back around her arm. "Besides, this party is more fun without the guest of honor."

Of course, they were talking about Azula.

"What makes you say that?" Zuko seemed shocked by what Toph had said. But since it was Zuko's responsibility to get Azula to the ball, her not being there meant a lot of different things than it did to Toph.

"Well, first of all, no one knows how to act around your sister," Toph explained. "She's so far gone that every tiny thing could potentially upset her. The whole room is practically on pins and needles the entire night. No princess means we can say whatever we want."

"No offense, Zuko, but Azula's pretty much always been like that," Mai added in before blowing a few hairs out of her eyes. "I know how much this stuff means to your mom, but no piece of jewelry on earth could magically fix you guys."

"One piece certainly destroyed it for good," he argued. Zuko looked away from the girls, obviously hurt by having his little sister be talked about like that. Hearing it bothered me, too. His eyes scanned the room while Katara mentioned that she thought Azula was mostly uneasy around her, specifically. After a moment, Zuko's eyes found me, much to my misfortune.

"Kuei's been talking to Azula the past couple weeks," he said, waving me over. "She's coming tomorrow night, isn't she?"

I reluctantly came over to where they all were as surprise came across Toph and Katara's faces. Talking about Azula meant I had to be careful what I said, especially with Zuko there. "Yes, she's coming," I confirmed. "And she's been doing pretty good lately."

Zuko seemed satisfied that I was backing him up. "See?"

Mai rolled her eyes.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Katara said.

"She really is doing much better." I put my hands behind my back and started twisting a couple rings. "But Zuko, there's something I need to talk to you about if you have some time later."

"Of course." He turned back to Mai. "I think Kuei's been very good for Azula. Maybe she'll start taking over some of her responsibilities."

"I highly doubt that," she said before tilting her head back so her hair hung over the banister she leaned on. It was almost like she was regretting her own idea.

I told them I had somewhere to be, and as I turned to leave, Toph pushed herself up from the stair she had been sitting on.

"I'm coming with you," she announced. "We haven't talked in a while, your majesty."

It was true-we rarely spoke at all-and I didn't dare tell her no. When we were out of earshot of the other three, she held up her left hand covered in a glove that appeared to be made of several thin, metal pieces. "Like it?" she said. "This way I never have to go anywhere unprotected." Toph moved her hand and the glove broke apart into the different sections. "I got the idea from those stone gauntlets your Dai Li agents had."

I never really felt like the Dai Li agents were mine, nor did I care for their weapon of choice. "That's exciting," I told her. It was great for her, but I didn't like to talk about bending too much. Then I remembered what Azula had said about Toph's metalbending school. "Would you help me solve a problem?" I asked.

"If you'll answer me one question," she retaliated, the glove fitting back around her hand. "What are you hiding from Zuko?"

"What are you talking about?" Toph knew when we were lying. I had forgotten about that. It wouldn't be that surprising if she could tell when we were nervous either.

"You were shaking badly enough, I don't know how they all couldn't see it," Toph clarified. "What could possibly be that nerve wracking for you?"

"Azula," I answered. "And Zuko."

"She's not coming tomorrow night, is she?" Toph guessed.

"No, she's coming." I took a turn down a hallway hoping to find a door that led outside. "It's just that she wants to come with me. I don't think Zuko will take too kindly to that, do you?"

"Azula wants you to be her escort?" She punched me in the arm.

"Yes." I grabbed onto my arm from the pain. There was a reason we didn't talk much.

"What did you do to her?" She seemed on the verge of laughter.

"It's a long story." I didn't want to tell it, especially at the risk of being hit again.

Toph shook her head. "But to answer your question, no, Zuko will not take kindly to that. He's awfully protective of her, especially since they get along about as well as a polar bear dog and a tiger armadillo. Why does she want you to walk her around so badly, anyway?"

I was tempted to remind her that she told me I only had to answer one question, but it wasn't worth the argument because she'd get it all out of me one way or another. "Well," I started, "I think I might be falling in love with her. And I'm pretty sure she feels the same way about me."

Now Toph did laugh. "Alright, I don't say this too often," she warned, "but I wish I could see just to see you and Azula together."

I wasn't sure if I should've been thanking her or offended. "It is pretty strange, I know," I decided to tell her, seeing a glass door that led out to a small porch. My escape.

"Hey, if it gets Azula to this party so Zuko doesn't have a conniption, by all means, do whatever you need to." Toph reached for her bracelet again, bending the rock off her arm and forming it into random shapes between her hands. "But if you think you're falling in love, what are you going to do when you leave after this party?"

I couldn't lie. "Actually, Azula was thinking about coming home to Ba Sing Se with me," I admitted. "I haven't had many advisors since the end of the war, and I could use her help."

"Zuko doesn't know about that either, I assume?" She pulled the rock into the shape of a heart, almost like mocking me. "Because he really wouldn't take kindly to Azula running off like that."

"No, that's what I need to talk to him about tonight." I stopped at the door and laid my hand on the handle. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"Don't worry about that." She put the bracelet back on again. "Where do you need to be right now, anyway?"

"I don't need to be anywhere," I explained. "I was hoping to go birthday shopping."

Toph cracked a huge smile like she was going to start laughing again. "Azula hasn't been this lucky in years," she said. "Good luck on your shopping trip."

"Thank you, Toph. It was nice catching up with you."

She started to turn, but wheeled back around. "Didn't you say you wanted some help with a problem?"

The earthbenders. "Some other time. It's not that important."

Then she walked off down the hallway, and I made my way outside and to the gate with the broken chain that was still unguarded. The streets were busy with merchants and citizens, and as the woman I'd bought the flowers from had said, there were fire lilies everywhere. Surrounded by the lilies, I realized I had no idea what I was looking for. Something that Azula would find genuine, that was for sure. Something that showed her I had been paying attention. But what had I been paying attention to?

It would be so simple to buy a set of paints or new brushes. Azula would like them, and she would use them. That was just too easy. There must've been something she said or did that would help. Things she said a lot usually revolved around how dysfunctional her family was, how she thought she was a monster, and how much she didn't want to be the princess she was. Her paintings were all of places far away. If she wasn't painting, she was reading books about people that didn't exist but lived happily ever after. I never realized how much she tried to escape from her life and herself, even.

I was pretty sure she would be coming back to the Earth Kingdom with me, but I had no idea what exactly I wanted her to be when we got there. Something I couldn't do was make up a position for her, but something I didn't have was an advisor. There was no one I dared to trust after Long Feng, and the Council seemed to work enough like an advisor that I never bothered to find one. Of course, Long Feng's actual title was the Grand Secretariat, but that seemed like it could hit a sensitive spot for Azula. If I had to make up a position to avoid hurting her, I could try to justify it to everyone else by eliminating the position that didn't have anyone in it anyway. Maybe it wouldn't be that simple, but it was an idea.

I continued to formulate some sort of formal invitation for Azula instead of me just badgering her. That solved the Fire Princess problem, hopefully. Her issues with herself weren't something that could be solved with anything material. I began wandering the streets, glancing at booth after booth of merchants selling anything and everything. Maybe something would catch my eye and whatever it was would be exactly what I was looking for, I kept telling myself.

No one bothered me, unlike at home if I would've even thought about leaving the palace walls by myself. Either the people didn't notice, didn't care, or more likely they just had better things to be concerned about. It was almost like I blended in for a few moments, halfway across the world.

"What do you know?" I heard a voice say. "A familiar face in all these people. What are you doing out here, Kuei?"

I looked up from a table of seashell necklaces and saw Aang a few feet from me. He carried his staff and had a bag over his shoulder. "It's a long story," I said. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "Just people watching mostly. Come on, let's hear your long story."

So I explained to Aang how I wanted to find a way to show Azula all the things about her that I saw but she refused to believe. I followed him through the streets, figuring he knew where he was going better than I did. After a moment of silence between us, he nodded. "Then why don't you just show them all to her?" he said.

"I've tried," I told him. "Azula doesn't exactly trust everything she hears."

"No one trusts everything they hear, especially things about themselves." Aang took a corner, and I followed. "And I can imagine someone who's spent the last couple years of their life in silence like she has would be much more open to seeing things than hearing them."

"She always wants me to see things," I thought aloud. The cliffside, the sunrise, all her paintings. Everything meant more to Azula if it could be made visible. "But they're not all things you can see."

Aang nodded and was quiet for a moment as we took another corner, moving farther away from the palace. "Do you know what the other side of a mirror looks like?" he asked.

I shook my head. "What does it look like?"

"Dusty," Aang answered. "At least our mirror was that way when I turned it over."

"Why did you turn it over?" I was beginning to hope that there was a purpose to this.

He shrugged. "I got tired of looking in the mirror and seeing my reflection, so I wondered what I would see on the other side."

"Was there anything other than dust?" I dared to ask.

"No," he said lightly. "So I wrote, 'I love you' in the dust and left it for Katara to see."

He could've just turned the mirror back over and thought nothing of it. After all, it was just dust. "I think I know how I'm going to show Azula those things," I told him.

"Good; I hope I helped in some way," he said, his eyes catching a stand of wood carvings. "Now there's something I need to talk to the carver of these about."

We said our goodbyes, and I headed back in the direction of the palace, stopping at one shop to buy a simple hand mirror. Upon sneaking back into the palace, I realized how close to lunchtime it was. I made a quick stop by my room to swap the mirror for my book of Earth Kingdom rules before picking up Azula's lunch from the kitchen. Today, the food on the tray seemed much fancier than usual. A small bowl of soup, noodles on a plate topped with vegetables and shellfish. Definitely not the usual casserole of what was probably going to go bad soon. There was even a small cake decorated with peach slices and a glass of what appeared to be champagne. When I arrived at her door, I was stopped by Zuko, leaning against the wall.

"The seamstress wanted Azula to try on her new dress once to make sure it fit," he said. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

A tray of steaming food in my hands and a book under my arm. I had no quick get away from Zuko in case this conversation turned sour, which I imagined it would. "I just wanted to thank you for allowing me to spend so much time with Azula," I started. "She really is a fascinating young woman."

He seemed surprised. I couldn't tell if it was because I was thanking him or hearing that someone thought Azula was interesting. "I should be the one thanking you," he said when the shock on his face had started to fade. "I don't know what you did, but if it makes Azula happy enough to get out of her room, then it makes me pretty happy, too."

Zuko was finally happy with me. "This really hasn't been a problem for me," I told him. "And while we're on the subject of happiness, Azula makes me pretty happy on her own."

Zuko's eyes glazed over with a hint of suspicion. "What are you trying to say?" he asked.

"I've enjoyed the last two weeks with her," I began. "She's funny and insightful, and she's very pretty."

The shock returned to his face. I glanced at Azula's door, begging it to open and find the seamstress woman waddling towards Zuko to tell him something important. After a moment and this didn't happen, Zuko took a deep breath and answered, "You are a very odd man, you know that?"

I knew that a long time ago. "That's not always a bad thing," I said.

"I didn't say it was." Zuko gave me a look with a raised eyebrow. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"What makes you think there was more?" I asked. The more I had been hoping would come around when Azula was there.

"The only person that's brave enough to call Azula pretty is our mother," he pointed out. "She is, but pretty is not exactly Azula's word of choice."

I knew what her word of choice was. I didn't like it. "A monster," I breathed. "That's what she calls herself. Where did she get that idea from, anyway?"

Now Zuko just appeared dumbfounded. "How much has Azula been talking to you?" he managed to stutter out.

"More than I've been telling you about," I admitted. "There's a lot more, actually, and that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Zuko melted into this state of what had to be partly anger but mostly shock and confusion. He started several sentences, but he never got past the second or third word, and eventually he gave up and just shook his head. His jaw appeared tensed and sweat began to bead on his forehead. "Azula may be a little crazy, but she's still my little sister," he eventually got out. The anger was beginning to take over.

I took a small step backwards, hoping he didn't notice. I was the bad guy again. "Azula isn't crazy at all," I said. Of course, without standing on the thin, rocky ledge between the ocean and the city, that accusation made very little sense. "Look, everything I say is going to sound completely backwards right now."

Zuko opened his mouth to say more, but at last the door opened and the seamstress appeared. She looked down at the floor when she saw us, and apologized for the wait. A bundle of silk was folded over her arms, and I assumed it was Azula's dress. She mumbled something about a few adjustments and left. The door hung open, and I could see Azula standing at her mirror, brushing her hair. The silence between Zuko and I started becoming less tense and more awkward, so I decided to take Azula her lunch before it got cold, or the champagne got warm.

Zuko followed me into the room, and I wasn't sure if Azula would just start talking up a storm with her brother or if he would have to do something to make her think it was worth speaking. I set the tray down on the little table and waited for one of them to break the tension rising in the room.

Azula proceeded to set her brush down and start braiding her hair. She finished, tied a red ribbon around the end, and turned to face us.

"Kuei tells me you've been opening up to him," Zuko said. I could tell he was trying to be calm, but small amounts of anger bled into his tone.

Azula looked to me, her posture wilting a little. Did she think I told Zuko everything?

"That's not what I said exactly," I added gently.

She crossed the room and sat on the couch to eat her lunch.

"Listen, Azula," Zuko came toward her.

Azula set down the glass of champagne before she ever took a sip. "No, Zuko, you listen," she said with an icy edge. "You never listened to me; that's why I stopped talking to you."

"What do you mean I never listened?" he argued. Hearing Azula's voice for the first time in years didn't seem to phase him too much. "I knew you weren't happy, so I did everything I thought was best for you, so you would be happy!"

"You did what you thought was best," she pointed out, staying surprisingly calm. "You never asked me what I thought was best."

"Then what is best for you?" he asked, almost tauntingly. "What is going to make you happy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you really want to know?"

"It would've been nice to know a few years ago," he growled, "before we wasted all this time."

"The exact opposite of what you tried to make me do," she spat. "That's what would've made me happy."

"Azula, those things used to be your entire world." His tone softened a bit.

I sat next to Azula and debated about laying my hand on her knee or her back, something that might help in some small way.

"Did you not see what happened to my entire world?" Azula's voice lost its bite as she continued, "It crumbled away and fell around me. And no one was there when it was done. I destroyed everything and hurt everyone with what I wanted. What on earth would make you think that would make me happy?"

"Why didn't you say that before?" Zuko asked, much more sympathetic but still frustrated.

"I did," she said. "I told you didn't want to firebend anymore, but you wouldn't have it."

Now I placed my hand on Azula's back and slowly ran my palm up and down her spine. I wanted to take her in my arms because I was pretty sure this wouldn't end without a few tears.

"It's not something you can just get rid of," Zuko tried to argue again, but he stopped there. "If it bothers you that much, we can try to forget about it."

Bending was something that could be gotten rid of, taken away. It wasn't easy, and the man that could do it probably wouldn't, but the idea of it seemed to bother Zuko almost as much as bending bothered Azula. Forgetting about her bending again seemed to start to satisfy Azula though, and she brought up something else.

"Do you know why I decided I want to come tomorrow night?" she asked in nearly a whisper.

Zuko's eyes darted between Azula and me a few times. "No, but I assume it has nothing to do with me."

"Because Kuei understands exactly why the whole thing bothers me," she explained. "Kuei understand a lot about me. I decided I wanted to go and spend the time with him, because he makes me happy."

I was leaving in two days. Zuko knew that, and he looked to me. Azula knew it, too, and that's where the more came in.

"Zuko, I've been thinking about it, and I don't belong here." Azula reached for the bowl of soup. "I haven't been happy here for a long time. I'm not sure I ever actually was."

"What are you getting at?" he asked, coming over to the other end of the table.

"I can't be the person you want me to be," she continued. Steam off the soup curled around her face. "I can't even pretend to be, and quite frankly, I don't want to be."

"Azula, you can't just turn your back on your family and your country." His tone was firm, but there was room for negotiation in it.

"It's not my country," she said softly. "It's yours. And as far as family goes, you'll always be my brother. Nothing so far has proved to be able to change that."

Zuko wanted to argue with that. He stood in frustrated thought for a few moments before he sighed in defeat. "Where do you want to be, if it's not here?"

Azula glanced at me, and Zuko's eyes followed.

"I asked Azula to come back to Ba Sing Se with me," I said, waiting a second to watch Zuko's reaction before I continued. He didn't speak. "For a change of scenery, and I don't think I'm quite ready to stop spending so much time with her."

She fought a smile, and her cheeks started to turn pink.

"You want to go, don't you?" Zuko asked.

"Yes," she answered. "I told you, Kuei makes me happy. I want to follow that."

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

Azula shot him a glare. "Stop that."

Zuko turned to me now. "Have you thought about how your people will take to this, Kuei?"

"Of course." I took my hand away from Azula. "They might not like it at first, but Azula's not going to cause any harm. They'll move past it eventually."

"Eventually can take a long time," Zuko pointed out. "You know, none of us are exactly favorites among each other's citizens."

The whole family spoke in riddles. I thought Azula had said Zuko was no good at that; although, three years of silence between them is three years of practice for him. "If you're worried about Azula's safety, I can promise you she'll be perfectly alright. The walls outside may be gone, but the walls to get to my palace aren't going anywhere."

"Zuko, cut it out," Azula warned. "I know what I'm doing."

"I just don't want you to regret this decision," he said calmly. "You know how far away from home you'll be. It's not exactly easy to turn around and come back."

Azula wasn't so quick to answer this time. Hesitation flashed through her eyes. A man she'd practically just met asks her to come halfway across the world with him, promising paradise. Even though we both knew it wasn't, that situation seemed like the beginning of a horror story. Time felt like it had frozen, but what had passed must've only been a short moment before Azula straightened her posture and looked her brother straight in the eyes. "Zuko, this is what I want," she told him with all the confidence she had. "Kuei makes me feel like I'm not a monster. I'm happy in a way I've never been happy before, and that just makes me happier. I can't stay here and feel the same way. There's difficulty I'm well aware of, but nothing that's ever worth having is easy to get."

That hit a chink in Zuko's armor. He eyed the flowers still sitting on the table from a few days ago, his shoulders slouching. "If I can't change your mind, there's no use telling you that you can't go," he said. "Just promise me one thing, that you won't forget where you came from."

"I've tried to forget that, and trust me, it's impossible." Azula pulled a hunk of meat from the soup with her chopsticks and finally began eating.

That seemed to satisfy Zuko as her honest word, and he started to walk away from the table. "That's the menu for tomorrow night," he said to change the subject. "If you have any complaints, let the chefs know. Enjoy your afternoon." Then he left.

Azula sat back on the couch and let out a huge sigh. "Whoever made this menu must've known peaches are one of my favorites."

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I was still in a little bit of shock that the conversation had gone so well, and without too much yelling. My book of rules sat face down on the table next to the tray of food, and I picked it up with my free hand and flipped it over to show to Azula. "You might want this."

The smile returned to her lips as she read the carefully inscribed cover that was faded and stained and hanging on by a few threads. "It looks like dresses are going to be the least of my worries here," she mused. "Thank you for bringing this, and for everything, really. I meant what I said to Zuko about not feeling like a monster."

"I know you did." I pulled her just close enough to kiss her forehead. "Don't ever call yourself that again. You're much too pretty to be a monster."


	9. Part Huit

I promise there's only two more parts...enjoy part eight!

Disclaimer: Don't own these guys... :(

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><p>That morning began with a disaster. I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the window, and I opened the curtain to find gray skies and sheets of rain waved every which way by the force of the wind. I hadn't been standing at the window very long before a flash of lightning illuminated my room. A clash of thunder wasn't far behind. I wondered if Azula's lilies had bloomed yet, but there wasn't enough birthday magic to stop the rain.<p>

Maybe Azula wouldn't mind the storm, I started to think in the hours that led up to lunch. I had a hard time convincing myself of this though; someone that didn't like to be in water probably wouldn't be comfortable being surrounded by it either. I had a feeling that the water might be the least of her worries in the storm though.

I wandered the halls, watching the rain fall outside and enjoying the worried rush of the people around me. I had one responsibility today-keep Azula happy-and that I knew I could keep under control. The only other person that seemed to be calm in any respect was Ty Lee. She must've been doing something important, because the Kyoshi Warriors always are, but she appeared to just be taking a relaxing stroll through the palace.

"I've been hearing quite a bit about you, Your Highness," she said with her normal face-consuming grin as she approached me. "You're our hero for the evening, aren't you?"

Hero wasn't the word I would pick. "What have you heard?" I asked. Toph I trusted not to gossip, but after coming clean to Zuko, I figured something might've found it's way to everyone else.

"Just how you've gotten Azula to end her silence and finally come to her birthday party again," she explained. "Mai told me."

"I wouldn't say end quite yet." I had a feeling Azula wasn't just going to go up to anyone and start a conversation. "But it's been a very interesting two weeks."

"Do you think she'd talk to me?" Ty Lee asked hesitantly.

Who wouldn't talk to Ty Lee? I was about to answer with yes when something Azula had said yesterday crept into my mind, "No one was there when it was done." The specifics on what Azula did to whom and vice-versa were beyond me, but I assumed it was pretty messy if Ty Lee was worried about it.

"I don't see why she wouldn't," I told her.

"It sounds silly, but her aura was always the slightest bit not right to me. I don't know how to explain it, but the colors didn't fit right," she said. "Then she lost her grip on everything, and it all just became a scary mess. Since you've been helping her, I just wondered if the colors have straightened themselves out."

Azula would talk to her. The hints of sadness in her big, brown eyes were one of the sincerest things I'd seen. They had been friends since they were little, and if Azula was looking for people who cared about her, Ty Lee would be one.

"I don't think you'll have a problem." I smiled.

"That's very good," she said. "Because I have orders from Zuko to keep you away from Azula until tonight."

Was she serious? "Why?"

She shrugged. "You don't see the bride before the ceremony, do you?"

"This isn't a wedding, Ty Lee." But her comment struck a cord. "You know more, don't you?"

"I read auras, silly," she teased. "And you, my friend, have quite an interesting display of color."

"What are you talking about?"

Her smile widened, and she laughed. "Someone's in love."

These girls, they knew everything. "Is that strange to you?"

"No," she piped instantly. "I've known Azula for a long time, and trust me, she didn't get that smart by force. She's pretty cultured and naturally curious, even if she doesn't seem like it at times. And if I could take a guess, I would say you're the same way."

I nodded.

"I'm sure there's a lot of other things involved, but if you enjoy doing something, then you should enjoy doing that something with someone who feels the same way," she concluded. "So from the outside maybe it seems weird, but after being friends with Azula, I've learned that there isn't too much that's weird on the inside."

Weird on the inside. The most normal pieces of Azula were locked away from the rest of the world. "She makes sense to me," I said.

"Then that's all that matters," Ty Lee offered. "And I'm happy for the both of you, but I still can't let you see her. Zuko's orders."

"Did Zuko tell you why?"

She shook her head. "He seemed pretty upset about it, but I'm sure it's just him being a big brother."

"Can you at least tell me one thing if you can't let me see her?" I asked.

She nodded. "Anything I have an answer to is fine by me."

"Azula doesn't have problems with storms, does she?"

Her eyes widened. "I didn't think of that. She didn't used to, but I'm not sure anymore. If it's anything, it's the lightning."

I was hoping the lightning would only shake Azula a little, but I had a nagging fear that it did much more to her. "You have to let me see her," I nearly begged.

Ty Lee shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, but I agree with Zuko. Magic will be ruined tonight otherwise. And besides, I'm sure this is nothing I can't handle."

I had to let her go. There wasn't any changing her mind, and if I had to trust Azula with someone else, Ty Lee was probably my best bet anyway. Maybe I could face the rain and sneak through into her window if my suspicion got any worse.

But what was I going to do for the rest of my day until the party?

I continued to wander around the palace, stopping to chat with the friends that walked by. The rain never seemed to let up, otherwise I would've taken a book outside. I took an hour or so to make my invitation for Azula to be my executive advisor, and I had even brought along the right ring with the right seal for such a document.

As the rain continued on, I started to worry more and more about my responsibility. I had to keep Azula happy, but I had to make sure she went to this party. The shaky bridge she and Zuko had started to build wasn't going to hold the weight if Azula backed down from this party now after so much fuss had been made especially for her. Not knowing how she was doing with the storm was becoming a larger problem than I had imagined.

I sat back in my chair, no longer so pleased with my invitation on the table before me. The candle wax was nearly dry on the seal, but I was starting to convince myself that maybe this wasn't a great idea to offer Azula an official position when I hadn't told Zuko about it. There was the thought that maybe Zuko wouldn't have to know about it until further down the road, but I didn't like the idea of covering up more things after we had just told him so much.

A crash of thunder stirred me from my wallowing. I had to see Azula. This never-ending storm was driving me absolutely mad. What if Azula wouldn't talk to Ty Lee, or she was upset and Ty Lee couldn't handle it? I was positive at this point that Azula had some quirk about her involving storms. I needed to find out what it was exactly. I pushed myself up out of the chair and began once again through the halls to Azula's doors.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice from behind stopped me as I started down the final hallway.

I turned around reluctantly. Mai, of course. "I know the rules, but you don't understand. I have got to see her and make sure she's alright."

Mai shook her head in frustration. "I talked to Ty Lee about the storm problem," she told me. "Azula doesn't like them, but for the most part she just loses focus during the pause between the lightning and the thunder. You've got nothing worth worrying about."

"What's the plan if the rain doesn't stop?" I asked.

"Everything is inside," she explained. "If it doesn't stop, then everything will go as planned."

I nodded. "Do you know how Azula and Ty Lee are doing together?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "Just fine. Look, whatever happened yesterday between you and Zuko really set him off, and when he's wound up like that, it gets very old very quickly."

Did she not know what happened? If something had Zuko as upset as Mai claimed he was, wouldn't he have told her what was bothering him? "I can see you're a little out of sorts," I said calmly, "but if I could ask, did Zuko tell you what happened?"

Mai folded her arms across her chest. "No," she snapped curtly. "Just stay out of this entire wing for the next few hours. It'll be to your benefit."

I didn't want to risk asking more questions and making the situation worse, but it seemed unbelievable that Zuko could just not tell her what had happened. And everything about the day that had the two of them riled up enough wouldn't help that. I started to walk back down the hallway towards her, agreeing to follow her words. Past her, I glanced back over my shoulder to see her watching me. "You're not going to tell me, either?" she asked. Her voice was still harsh, but the words tapered off slightly towards the end of her question.

Was I supposed to? I turned back around. "I could, but do you really want me to?"

She shook her head. "Just get out of here."

I continued the trek back through the palace. Azula was leaving, Zuko wasn't happy about it, and Mai had no idea what was going on. This was not how I imagined my trip ending, even after Azula became involved. Lighting flooded in from the windows followed quickly by a cackle of thunder. What I had thought would ruin this day only became icing on a particularly sour cake. The worst part? Azula wouldn't be leaving if I hadn't asked her to, but I wouldn't have asked her to leave if Mai hadn't suggested I talk to her.

Someone had been by my room while I was gone. At first I assumed servants, since my bed was made and things had been straightened up a little. Laid out on my bed though was a set of ivory-colored robes. As I got closer I noticed the distinctly red pieces, and my first thought was that I would be expected to wear these tonight. No note or hint was left by whoever brought them, but it didn't seem like something a cleaning maid would be left to handle.

I ran my hand over the silken material, not sure if I should be upset or indifferent. I knew I couldn't be excited about the clothes before me. Wearing them would certainly not go over well with my people, and I very much agreed with them as to why. If this was a scheme of Zuko's to demand some kind of respect from me after all the trouble I'd caused, I didn't want anything to do with it. But it could also be a kind suggestion from Azula, because I had caused so much trouble; then I could see why showing Zuko respect might be a good idea.

Either way, I was still leery of the reaction I could get if anyone in the Earth Kingdom found out. I didn't want to disappoint my citizens or raise suspicion among my court. I had already given up land for one of Zuko and Aang's "projects." I was about to bring back Azula, who may have won my heart, but she wasn't going to have such an easy time with the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Word I'd given in to a request to wear what I assumed to be traditional Fire Nation clothing wasn't going to aid my current record.

A knock at my door moved me away from the robes. On the other side stood the seamstress, her head bowed. "Your majesty, please forgive me," she started. Her voice rasped slightly as she spoke. "I meant to come by originally while you were here to explain this to you, but the servants preferred I not trouble you."

Explain what to me? "You're not troubling me at all," I answered.

Her shoulders seemed to fall flatter. "I'm sure you've noticed the clothes I've put out for you, and I can understand if you are angered or insulted in any way by them." She paused a moment, as if waiting for me to lash out at her. When I didn't answer, she added, "But if I could have a moment of your time to explain them to you, I'm sure you can see my ways of thinking."

I smiled. "Of course I can listen to you; come in and have a seat."

She seemed surprised by my offer and at last stood up straight and looked at me. Her face had deep lines, and heavy bags hung under her eyes that were a color of gray to match her hair. Stunned beyond speech, she followed me into the room and sat quietly on a hard, wooden chair.

"Now what's this about the robes?" I asked, taking a seat on the much softer couch across from her.

She nodded as if remembering why she was here in the first place. "I've been working for the royal family my entire life. I was born in the same year as Fire Lord Ozai, and I succeeded my mother's job when she passed away many years ago. I'm not sure his children realize this, but I've been making most of their clothes their entire lives. The princess's dresses for this ball especially have been my personal responsibility. Then when she told me she wanted to have your majesty as her escort, I wanted to make sure the Fire Lord was as happy as possible, and that is why I brought you these robes."

To make Zuko happy. It was only part of her job, of course, but making him happy seemed to be a lot more trouble than it was worth. I nodded though, and let her continue.

"When wealthy families have big parties like this for their daughters, the eligible men wear these traditional robes so that the lady and her family knows who to be watching," she explained. "I know that wearing these would make Princess Azula very happy, and the Fire Lord would be happier if he knew she was happy."

"I don't mean to interrupt," I said so she would stop a minute. "But I don't think you're talking about the same Fire Lord Zuko I had to argue with yesterday."

"I am, your majesty." Her voice lost some of its volume like she didn't want to tell me I was wrong. "The Fire Lord talks about having Princess Azula take over her political duties, but I can see that's not what is most important to him when the princess is involved. I've gone with him to these last few meetings with the princess about 'just trying the dress on' over the past two years. As she got sicker and sadder, he became more frustrated with himself. He didn't know what he did to hurt her like this. Unfortunately, he's misplaced his anger and taken it out on her. Maybe he doesn't see it now what he wants, but if he could see Princess Azula happy the way you and I see her happy, it would make things better, I promise."

As much as I wanted to see Azula happy, I still couldn't justify this idea in my mind. Trying to make Zuko happy wasn't my job, and it certainly wasn't worth risking the respect of my kingdom. Besides, this woman didn't have any concrete proof that this would solve all my problems. Her theory seemed highly plausible, but a theory is still a theory. There was just one thing I couldn't quite understand.

"Why would wearing this make Azula happy?" I asked.

"She wants the world to know," the old woman told me.

"When did she tell you all of this?"

"I don't think she meant to, if that's what you're wondering," she offered. "I was adjusting her dress yesterday, and she sighed and said something about she was worried people would think you were just being nice to her. After she'd spoken, she seemed surprised that she had."

I nodded. Maybe there was a chance Azula would talk to people other than me tonight, even if it was just a little bit. "Well, thank you for coming by to explain this all to me," I said. "It's still something I'm not entirely sure I should do, but it's something to consider."

The seamstress thanked me for my time and left. I looked back to the clothes laid out on my bed. There wasn't much time left for me to ponder about wearing the robes or not wearing them. On one hand, Azula would be very happy. People wouldn't be left guessing why I was treating her the way I planned to. On the other hand, an international political scandal didn't sound very appealing. Wearing the robes wouldn't just upset my country; since Zuko was already upset, this little surprise could insult him.

I sighed. All this for a dance. Azula was going to the ball in the first place because she wanted to dance with me, and I with her. Nothing was ever as simple as a dance, or a dress, or a robe. Azula had said before that we were royalty, so nothing was supposed to be simple. Any other man could wear whatever he pleased to a party. My eyes lingered on the ivory silk, and I would've given anything at that moment to be the two-face book keeper cheating on my wife if Azula could've been the pretty traveler. It sounded much easier.

I could've never imagined that keeping Azula happy meant possibly angering everyone else. She seemed like the only person I could please at all. Zuko would never be okay with how I had gallivanted into Azula's life and so easily taken her away from him. Mai was upset because of Zuko, and if the hosts of this party were both upset, wouldn't that just be an indication of how the company would feel around them? And it was my fault. I couldn't wear these robes because it would only make things worse, except for Azula.

I couldn't help but smile for a second. It didn't seem to matter whether Azula was trying to do bad or good; whatever would make her happy made just about everyone else miserable. Honestly, I wanted to wear the outfit because I knew it would make her smile. Her smile was the only thing I wanted to matter to me. We were pushing enough boundaries anyway, weren't we? What would one more do, especially if it meant seeing her pretty smile? It was her birthday, after all. If only one person could be happy today, she deserved to be that person.

I was running out of time, so I changed into the outfit without any more second guessing and grabbed my gifts to Azula before heading out to make one last attempt to see her before I was supposed to.

"Sorry, Kuei, I can't let you in," Suki snapped when she stopped me at Azula's door. She and another Kyoshi warrior stood on either side of the large, ornate door. The other girl leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, blowing strands of hair out of her face in boredom. Suki stood nearly nose-to-nose with me, her arms crossed in defiance and her tone bleeding anger. "Zuko's orders," she added bitterly.

I was getting tired of hearing that phrase, "Zuko's orders." Since when was it more important for Suki to be following Zuko over me, anyway? Wasn't she technically my citizen? I didn't dare pull that card on her for the risk of having her snap on me; although, I wasn't sure she could get much angrier.

"What's gotten into you?" I asked gently.

"I heard what you did," she growled. "I know you're taking _her_ to Ba Sing Se, and I know it's not to put her in jail where she rightfully belongs."

Suki had a right to be mad at me, something I hadn't taken into consideration. I'd completely forgotten about Azula's ambush on the Kyoshi Warriors until Suki's stone-cold eyes bored into mine. But Ty Lee had been part of the ambush, too, and now she was a Kyoshi Warrior herself. That didn't sound like a good thing to bring up either. "I understand why you're upset," I started. "But can't we move past this, even if it's just for tonight?"

Her cold eyes held their glare, but she didn't speak. After a moment, she gave me a long look up and down.

"The outfit is a long story," I said quickly, hoping she'd take that as an answer. "Listen, it's really important I see Azula right now. I haven't had time to discuss the trip back tomorrow with her."

I had, actually, and we'd done so several times.

Suki raised an eyebrow like she had caught onto the lie.

This had to be fixed fast; Suki and the other warriors were the choice protection between Zuko and me. We had to stay on as good of terms as possible. "If you're not going to talk to me, do you mind me asking how you got stuck with guarding Azula, especially when the only person you have to worry about is me?" I attempted to joke.

The other girl snickered behind her hand. Suki managed to huff out a sigh. "It was this or go to the party as a guest. And given the circumstances, you can see why I would prefer this."

So she wouldn't have to actually celebrate Azula's birthday, or so she wouldn't have to see me with her all night? Before I could answer, the door opened and Ty Lee appeared, smile and all.

"I was just about to come get you, your highness," she explained, and she tilted her head to one side. "You look odd." Then Ty Lee stepped up to me and straightened my collar, circled around me and tightened my belt, and fixed my collar a second time before shaking her head. "Red really isn't your color."

"It was a last minute decision," I said. "It's probably a good thing Azula's coming with me instead of me staying here with her, right?"

Ty Lee giggled, then turned to Suki. "I've got this under control if you want to leave, Suki. I know this isn't how you wanted to spend your evening."

Suki was off down the hallway, dragging her partner behind without another word.

"Is there any way I could sneak in and see Azula a couple moments early?" I asked when they were out of ear shot.

Ty Lee looked like she was about to shake her head when a sly grin came on her face. "Answer me one question."

I nodded.

"What's the difference between an advisor to the Earth King and his wife?" she asked.

Azula must've told her about my offer. I held back a small laugh at her question. "A wedding ring," I answered in defeat. "But don't get your hopes up just yet."

"I think you can slip in for a moment," Ty Lee chirped, opening the door for me. "You're one lucky guy tonight," she whispered. "Her aura is pink like the sunset."

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><p>Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger! I don't usually find them attractive...but...I made an exception. Mwhahaha<p> 


	10. Part Neuf

Here is part nine! (it's a tad lengthy...sorry...) Only one more part left. Oh goodness. Finally!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. :'(

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><p>Azula was sitting at her mirror, her hand pressed against her cheek and her eyes locked onto the reflection. A hint of confusion sat in her otherwise contented eyes. Her normally colorless face had been covered by makeup and made the pink of a water lily: pale yet alive and beautiful. She didn't notice me, and I was hesitant to walk up to her for fear of startling her.<p>

Her dress was red like I'd never seen before; it wasn't the normal Fire Nation red that often strayed towards a maroon shade. This was real red. Small gold flowers were embroidered on the edges, and a gold belt cinched everything together at her waist. Her dark hair had been pinned and braided into an elaborate cascade down her back.

I couldn't help but smile at how pretty she looked. Even the confusion in her eyes was beautiful, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. The pink in her cheeks would eventually become permanent as well. Ty Lee had been right; I was a lucky guy.

She sighed and placed her hand in her lap before turning in her chair towards me. At first she jumped when she saw me, but she relaxed almost immediately and started to smile. "You're one silly boy," she mused.

"Only because a pretty lady turned my into one," I answered as I came closer to her. "Happy birthday, Azula." I held my gifts out to her.

Azula was hesitant to take the gifts from my hands, but she did and carefully peeled open the invitation. As she read, I was more nervous that she would be upset with the offer than her brother would be. My hands started to sweat, and I began twisting at the rings on my fingers. Her lips curled into a small smile, and she folded the invitation back together. "You brought the seal for invitations from the king?" she asked lightly.

She'd been reading. "You never know when it might come in handy."

"Well, I don't see how a king as prepared as you are could possibly need an advisor," she teased with a certain delicateness in her tone; it was like dewdrops on a flower's petal. "But if you think you need one, I'd be more than happy to do the job." Azula set the invitation down on the vanity table and looked up at me. Her words lost their aloofness in the golden shine of her eyes and the pearl likeness of her smile. "Thank you, Kuei," she said, the delicateness dropping away like the water droplets sliding down the petal and onto the ground.

"There's more," I answered gently, and she looked down to the mirror still in her lap.

Azula held the mirror up to her face. "I've spent my whole day in front of a mirror," she complained.

"The front isn't the important part," I explained.

She glanced back at me, her eyes curious yet unconvinced. I came around to her side and knelt down before turning the mirror over in her hands so the side that faced us was the smooth, plain wood.

"You've lost me," she admitted.

I held back a laugh. "Just listen a minute," I told her. "What can't you see in the mirror right now?"

"My reflection."

"And what is your reflection of in a mirror?"

She glared at me with a playfulness hidden in it. "My face," she answered. "My body."

"But it's only what's on the outside," I corrected her. "And if you can't see your outside reflection in a mirror, what's left?"

She sighed. "I don't know."

"The inside," I said. "Everything I've told you about, your beauty and grace and intelligence and your love of romance novels and how you paint as though you've never forgotten any details of everything you've seen and all the silly things you like, they're all there on the inside. On the back of the mirror, behind the reflections."

The smile returned to Azula's face. "That's brilliant," she whispered.

"I can't take all the credit," I said. "A nice young man walking the market yesterday morning helped me out."

"But how do you see all of this?" she asked.

"I told you: your eyes and your smile."

Azula turned the mirror back around so it reflected both of us. "If there's one reflection I could enjoy, it's this one." She leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Thank you, Kuei, for everything."

I stretched up for one moment to kiss her lips and feel the warmth of her as my hand curved around her cheek. When we pulled away, Azula tilted her head to one side as she looked at me.

"You know what you're wearing, right?" she asked.

I nodded. "Do you think Zuko will mind much?"

She shook her head. "I'll be surprised if he says anything at all. The whole party has got him strung up enough."

I laughed. "And what do you think?"

The smile crept back onto her lips. "Even if Zuko doesn't say anything, I'm glad people will notice. Although red really isn't your color."

Now we both started to laugh. "I've already been told so by the fashion police outside your door," I said.

"Maybe it's your eyes," she wondered aloud. "But I suppose you wouldn't be much of an Earth King if you looked better in red than green."

An opening of the door caused me to stand, and I held my hand out to Azula to help her up as Zuko and Mai appeared. Mai's eyes widened at the sight of us, and I couldn't decide if it was because of Azula's appearance or mine. Hopefully Zuko had let her know what was going on.

"You look exactly like Mom," Zuko said in awe.

The smile left on Azula's face disappeared. "Please don't talk about Mom tonight," she answered in a near whisper.

Zuko nodded somewhat reluctantly. "You know I only mean that as a compliment," he said. "You look beautiful."

Azula began to smile but stopped and held her lips in a straight line. "Thank you."

"Are you ready?"

She nodded, and we proceeded out of her room. Even though I was Azula's escort, she still had to walk with Zuko into the party, followed closely by Mai and me. Her hair had been done up extravagantly-more so than Azula's-and her outfit was a dark maroon color covered in swirls of varying shades of red that lapped up from the bottom of the dress like the shadows of flames in the Fire Palace's throne room. Her usual bored face became one of power when it had a straight posture and relaxed shoulders under it. I wanted to believe it was just her act for the people, but a tightness in her jaw hinted that something was still not right.

"Something bothering you?" I whispered.

Mai turned her head to look at me. Her eyes were dark. "Everything bothers me," she answered.

With Zuko and Azula so close and the ballroom inching nearer with every step, now didn't make for the best time to press her for answers. She had reason to be mad if Zuko still hadn't told her, and she had reason to be mad if he had. Who her victim was would be the only difference between the two.

"In any case, you look lovely tonight," I told her.

She turned her head to look forward without answering me.

Zuko had given me one explanation of what was to happen when the great double doors into the ballroom opened for us. The room would be bursting with people who would all fall silent as we took our places on the stage. Zuko would say a few words regarding the nation as a whole and Azula herself. Then certain attendants hand-picked by him would bring out the necklace, and he would place it around Azula's neck. The attendants would disappear, Azula would thank the crowd, and Zuko would officially start the festivities.

Azula had given me a slightly different version of the events. When Zuko had started giving the speeches, she told me, his words focused on her as an example of how the Fire Nation could recover from the war. As she had said this to me, she had curled up by hugging her knees to her chest and resting her cheek on top of her knees to look out the window. Next, she explained that Zuko putting the necklace on would probably have to be intervened by Mai since he had proven himself to be pretty hopeless when it came to such things. When it came to her thanking the crowd, she had decided on a deep, respectful bow instead of speaking. "It's not the exact proper thing to do," she had said while her eyes moved from the window to the floor. "But I can't bring myself to say anything." Then she'd buried her face in her knees and mumbled about how she didn't even want to bow.

When the great doors to the ballroom were only feet from us, Azula glanced back at me. The worry that had been in her eyes the afternoon before was back again. I smiled, trying to assure her everything would be okay. But if Zuko's speech started to drift into the territory of Azula's depression, there wasn't much that could make the night easier. The whole room of nobility from all over the world would know her illness and pain. Azula had already told her brother not to talk about their mother; if the idea even came up in his speech, I feared what might happen.

Suddenly, the doors were being opened for us by attendants, and a room full of people waited on the other side of a platform where we were to stand not very high above the crowd. As Zuko and Azula took their first steps onto the platform, the room fell silent. When Mai and I followed, whispers began to circulate through the mass of people. Was it me they were talking about? My choice in clothing? Or just Azula actually being there took a second to sink in?

Mai and I stood back while Zuko and Azula took center stage. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all stood in the front row of people. The rest of the room was full of faces I couldn't recognize; even the handful from my own nation were strangers to me. Red pillars held the room up on either side, and the walls were an ivory color covered in gold and red designs. The doors we had come through began to close, and Zuko cleared his throat. The whispers ceased.

"Tonight is a very special night," Zuko began. Azula held her hands behind her back, and I could see her wring her hands. "Tonight," the Fire Lord continued, "my little sister finally made it to her birthday party."

There was a pause at first, but the crowd began to applaud. Zuko held up his hand for silence. "Tonight is a step forward for Azula, and tonight, she is nineteen years old."

The crowd began to applaud again, and I scanned the room quickly to see if anyone else had shown up to the party in the same outfit. Nothing caught my attention.

"A great man once told me that it's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive."

Azula's hands froze. She turned her head towards Zuko, and I could see the alarm in her wide eyes.

"And my doing nothing has hurt both Azula and me as siblings, as leaders, and as sufferers of the same condition. Well, tonight, I want to forgive Azula for everything she's done to this nation and to me, personally, and I hope she can forgive the way I've been to her."

The crowd began to whisper again. Azula's eyes flashed in the light a sign of begging. Begging to stop. As much as this forgiveness should happen, Zuko was risking his reputation by doing this publicly. Azula either very well knew that and didn't want him to make a huge mistake, or she just couldn't handle a formal and public address like this.

"I was made to realize a few days ago that nothing that can or has happened is able to stop her from being my baby sister. Azula has been through so much-both of us have-and I think it's time we stopped our childish nonsense and started being the family our mother always wanted us to be."

Azula's jaw was set. Tears sat on her eyelids.

"So, starting tonight, Azula and I have a clean slate."

Her eyes fluttered, and she began to fall backward. I lurched forward immediately to try and catch her, Mai followed behind me, and Zuko, standing a step or two ahead of Azula and facing the crowd, only noticed what was happening when the crowd gasped and he turned around. Aang stepped in from the audience with a blast of air to keep Azula from hitting the ground with much force since no one could get to her fast enough. I pulled her into my arms the moment I got to her, and the warmth I could feel from her body was borderline hot. Mai knelt down on the floor, produced a small fan from her sleeve, and began to anxiously wave it over Azula's face to wake her up.

Zuko didn't rush to the floor, but was standing between Mai and me in no time, his hand on Mai's back. Maybe it was to give Azula space, but it wasn't exactly a presentable thing for a host to jump to the floor like I had.

Azula blinked her eyes open after a few moments. By now, a buzz circulated through the room. Katara stood with her hand on her skin of water that never seemed to leave her side. Aang's arm was in front of her shoulders, preventing her from coming forward.

Azula turned her head to press her cheek against my chest. "This place is too hot," she mumbled. Tears sat in her eyes. Mai kept the fan on Azula's face, but she didn't wave it so hard anymore.

"Can you walk to get outside?" I asked. I wanted to carry her, but enough commotion had been caused that I didn't think it was the best idea.

She nodded slowly. I helped her up, and Mai folded her fan as she stood. Before placing it back in her sleeve, she leaned into Zuko and whispered with her harsh voice, "We don't carry these to look flirty and sophisticated." Then she smacked him square in the chest with the fan.

Glass double doors were at the bottom of the platform on the side opposite the doors we'd entered through. Azula leaned heavily on me, and I was happy to support her. We made it through the doors and were met with the blast of cool air from the rain that had finally begun to slow. A bench sat under the awning that went around the courtyard we were in, and Azula collapsed onto it. She immediately laid down on her side as well as she could, her face against the cool stone the bench was made of. I knelt down in front of her and tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"This isn't about how warm the room is, is it?" I asked.

"No," she murmured.

I kissed her burning forehead. "Zuko only means well."

"I know." Azula closed her eyes and sighed. "Everything I'd ever done that was horrible just came back and attacked me."

I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but she was so warm already it wouldn't have been comfortable for her. No one could've guessed Azula would be plagued with images from her past when Zuko talked of forgiving her for them, not even Azula. No one would've thought she could faint, either. Her attitude just didn't allow for it. Although, between her fragile body and nineteen years of awful things exchanged between the two of them, it wasn't so surprising anymore. We couldn't blame Zuko for this one.

The doors opened again, and I looked up to see Aang with a glass of water coming toward us. "I thought this might help," he said, offering the glass to Azula.

She glanced up at him with eyes lost in confusion. She began to push herself up to sit, and she took the water from Aang's hand with a slow, cautious movement.

"You look very pretty tonight," Aang said. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Azula shook her head.

Aang nodded and walked back into the ballroom.

Tears began to fall. "I don't understand," she cried.

Now I sat in the space next to her on the bench and took her into my arms. Coming to the party wasn't a good idea. "What don't you understand?" I asked softly.

Azula curled up into me like doing so would hide her from everything else. "How can they just forget everything? I was so horrible to them all."

I didn't have an answer. Was it pity? Or was Aang just beyond holding a grudge? I held her tighter and rested my lips in hair, letting her cry. No mirror, no ledge, no painting was going to fix this. Nothing in two weeks would make her forget the past. I hadn't performed much of a miracle; all I'd done was make a bigger mess of things.

Azula's sobs turned to whimpers after a little while. The glass of water was still in her hand, and she brought it to her lips and took a sip.

"It'll be okay," I said, lightly touching her cheek. "I know it will be. Eventually."

Her eyes met mine. "You're not going to give up, are you?" she asked, her voice beginning to sound hoarse. She coughed a few times after she spoke.

"I've given up a lot of things. You aren't something I'm going to let go of."

Azula set the glass of water down and wrapped her arms around me. "You know I'm no good for you."

"You're perfect for me." I leaned down and kissed her.

She kissed back with the warmth I was used to. Her nose rested against mine when we separated, and she mentioned, "You and I still have to dance."

Smiles broke across both our faces, and I kissed the tip of her nose. "Of course. Why else did we come?"

Azula finished the glass of water before we went back in. She pulled a red, silk handkerchief from her belt and dabbed around her eyes where the makeup had run. Her skin had returned to it's normal temperature, and by the time we stood up to go back in, her hands even felt cold.

"What about your necklace?" I asked as she took my hand while we walked back to the doors.

She sighed. "Maybe Zuko will wait until the end of the night."

When we re-entered the ballroom, music was playing, and people mingled about with champagne. Servants walked around with trays of hors d'oeuvres, one of which was the delicate peach cake from Azula's lunch the day before.

Under the lights inside, Azula's eyes shimmered like the bubbles in the champagne. She eyed the cakes on the trays, and I wondered if she'd eaten all day.

"Hungry?" I said.

A blush rose in her cheeks. "I need a drink," she admitted.

I smiled. "How about a little bit of both?"

She nudged my side with her elbow. "Think I can't handle a little champagne?" she teased.

"Of course you can," I said. "But I thought someone liked peaches."

Azula began to smile, but stopped herself. This was still the party she didn't want to be at, and smiling would mean she was having a good time. We got ourselves each a cake and a glass of champagne before we came under the presence of Zuko. Mai wasn't with him.

"I didn't think you'd come back," he said.

"I came tonight for a dance with Kuei," Azula explained before taking a sip of her drink. "I'm not leaving without one."

A smirk tugged at Zuko's lips. "I'm glad you came back, actually."

She shrugged.

"Your gift," he mentioned. "What would you like to do about it?"

Serious thought came across her face. Not presenting it would break the tradition, but tradition got broken enough around here it shouldn't have been that big of a deal. Could she even handle getting back up in front of people? Zuko knew now the limits he could take with his words, but the fact that she had already collapsed once tonight might make her nervous enough that it would happen again. Azula swirled the drink in her glass a few times and took a couple moment-filling sips.

"I would like it presented to me at the end of the night," she decided aloud. "Just before midnight."

Zuko appeared stunned for a minute. The glass in his hand could've slipped from his fingers without his noticing. "If that's what you want, that's what we'll do," he finally said.

"Thank you," she answered.

"You know," Zuko began, "I actually missed you causing me trouble in public." He took his empty hand and set it on her shoulder. "It's going to be a different place around here without you."

Azula's eyes flitted from her brother's hand on her shoulder to the floor. Any confidence she'd had disappeared. "Don't miss me too much," she said, her volume dropping. "I'm not coming back just to pick on you."

Zuko pulled his hand away, but he was smiling. Azula had said nothing was able to change that he was her brother. "Enjoy your dance," he said before turning around and disappearing into the crowd.

Tears sat in Azula's eyes again.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve and looked up at me. "I know I need to leave this place, but I didn't realize it would be this hard."

"Nothing worth having is easy to get," I reminded her of her own words.

"I say we propose a toast," Azula said. "To being silly."

"And why is that?"

"Because if you can't be silly, you shouldn't bother being serious," she explained, holding up her glass. "And I've been serious all night, so it's time to be silly."

I couldn't have stopped myself from smiling if I'd have wanted to. She was perfect. "To being silly," I said, tapping my glass with hers. We both took drinks.

We finished our cakes and champagne just as a song was ending, and when the new song began, I took hold of her hand. "Shall we dance?" I asked.

Azula began to smile again, and this time she let herself. "Of course."

I led her out into the middle of the room where all the dancing couples had congregated. Eyes followed us all the way. I took hold of her, one hand on her waist and holding onto her hand, and she placed her other hand on my shoulder. As we began to move with the music, I held her gaze. Something in her eyes hinted at disbelief; this moment was actually happening. Azula was at this party, swirling around the room with me.

Her eyes also glowed with so much happiness. This was disbelief for me. I had done the impossible, and accidentally fallen for her in the process. I couldn't have dreamed of being able to make Azula happy in the way she looked up at me now. There was nothing else I could've wanted to do more at the moment though.

A smile broke out on her face, a side effect from the happiness in her eyes. As I twirled her around a few times, she began to laugh. By the end of the song, both of us were doing more laughing than dancing, and we were only interrupted by the applauding of the music when it was finished. Instead of clapping with the rest of the guests, Azula and I looked at each other, and before we knew it, our lips were pressed against each other's in a warm, happy kiss.

Was it proper? Absolutely not. People definitely noticed. But it was Azula's birthday, and I wasn't about to deny the birthday girl of any wishes.

We danced a few more dances before Azula claimed she was getting dizzy. Her solution was another glass of champagne, to which I laughed but didn't protest. As we sipped at our second glass, Katara wandered by, Toph holding onto her arm.

"Too many feet to handle tonight?" I asked Toph.

"Too much to drink," Katara corrected me.

Toph nodded slowly.

Azula immediately looked down at the glass she held with both hands.

Before Katara or I could say anything more, Zuko approached us. Still no Mai to be found.

"Where's the lovely Fire Lady?" Katara teased.

"She doesn't like parties," Zuko answered, his voice rough.

By now, Azula had finished her champagne and was setting the glass on the empty tray of a server passing by. Her eyes never came up from the floor.

"I actually came over to see if Azula wouldn't mind a dance with me," he said.

Now she looked up, but right at Zuko. An uncertainty sat in her eyes, but she held out her hand to him and let him take it.

"I'm not Dad," he said gently, "I won't embarrass you."

The side of her lip curved upward. He led her away without another word.

"You know," Katara said as she adjusted Toph who had begun leaning on her shoulder. "I remember finding you curled up in a ball on the floor of your hot air balloon one time, some years ago."

"That was a different time," I answered. It wasn't something I was proud of, but then again, when had I been proud of my politics?

She gave me a smirk. "You're right." Her gaze drifted to the middle of the room where Zuko had Azula. They moved to the music if somewhat awkwardly, but Zuko seemed pleased with his little sister's presence. "You've learned to take some risks since then, haven't you?"

I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks. What risks was she talking about?

"Azula needs you, you know," she said next when I didn't answer.

I finally spoke up. "I think I'm the one that needs her."

When Zuko returned with Azula after the song, Katara said she was going to take Toph to lay down and dragged her away. Zuko decided it was time to go hunting for Mai, and we were left alone once again to dance, drink champagne, and eat little cakes until we couldn't do any anymore.

By the time midnight came upon us, Azula and I were tipsy and laughing more than we were anything else. When Zuko reminded us of the necklace though, the laughing stopped. Mai had come out of hiding, and the four of us took the stage again.

The crowd had gotten noticeably smaller, but more than half the people were still there. Zuko announced that Azula would be presented with her gift, and otherwise he said nothing not directly pertaining to the necklace being brought on stage by a servant. The heavy gems sat on a velvet pillow, and the servant bowed on one knee to Zuko, presenting the necklace to him. He picked the jewelry up and held it up to the crowd, pausing for applause before continueing over to Azula.

Azula stood with her hands behind her back as before, and her eyes were downcast. Zuko placed the piece around her neck, causing her to look up. He fumbled with the clasp for a moment before Mai rolled her eyes and came up to snap the two ends of the necklace together in seconds. They both stepped back, and the room filled again with applause. Azula bowed respectfully to the crowd of people then looked to Zuko as the clapping died down.

"Happy birthday, Azula," he said.

She gave a small smile, and Zuko dismissed the crowd and began the music again. I came to meet her at the center of the stage, and she stretched up to whisper, "I think this necklace is going to make me fall over."

The light reflecting off the stones caught in her eyes. "If it's any consolation, it looks beautiful on you."

We both laughed a moment as we began towards the floor for one final dance of the night.


	11. Part Dix

Hopefully I've been able to satisfy you in one way or another. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own these super awesome characters... :'(

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><p>A cool morning breeze floated in through my window, waking me. The sun was just beginning to peek over the rocky outcrop surrounding the city and empty trickles of light into the room. I pushed myself up and out of bed. This morning I was to leave the Fire Nation, after three long weeks.<p>

A maid brought me breakfast: toast, eggs, and a cup of tea. The warmth from the food made up for the breeze in the window I refused to shut. Slightly more awake, I got dressed for the first long day at sea and left the room to find Azula.

This morning, no one stood outside her door, and I knocked first before pushing it open. Her curtains were drawn shut, and one dying candle was the only light in the room. Azula still lay in bed, tangled in her silken sheets. Her hair fanned out over the pillows and appeared like dark waters before a storm.

I sat on the edge of the bed and laid my hand over her shoulder, gently moving her to pull her from her sleep. Her eyes slowly were forced open, and after only a moment, she pulled the red sheet over her face and groaned.

"Feeling alright this morning?" I asked.

Azula took the sheet off her face and shook her head. "Too much champagne."

My lips dared to turn upward in a smile. "Maybe some breakfast would help."

She rolled onto her back, her hands coming up to cover her eyes. "No food, please."

Now I began to snicker. Azula weakly swatted at me, keeping her eyes closed.

"The thought of food makes me feel sick," she complained.

I grasped onto her hand blindly waving back and forth to try and hit me, then I brought it to my lips and kissed her fingertips. "How are you going to get on a boat like this?"

Azula bolted upright, then moaned and curled up into a ball, her head between her knees. She hadn't bothered to change out of the dress she'd worn the night before, and I could see the candle light glinting off her ruby necklace that sat on her bedside table. "I forgot about that," she mumbled. "I get sea sick sometimes anyway."

I reached my hand out and began stroking her back. "You could sleep this off on board if you wanted," I offered. "If you could handle getting there."

"Let's not make any promises I'll get there without throwing up," she breathed.

"I'm sure you'll be fine once you get moving," I told her, taking hold of her wrists.

Azula reluctantly let me pull her to her feet, on which she covered her eyes with her hand and sat back down. "The room is spinning," she said.

I pulled her into my arms. "How about some orange juice?" I asked softly. "That always helps me."

She looked up at me with surprise. "You've had a hangover?"

"Several, actually." I curved my hand around her cheek. "And they're all long stories."

A smile spread across her lips. "We've got a long boat ride, don't we?"

"We're not on the boat yet," I reminded her.

She laid her head on my chest and sighed. "I suppose we need to be getting there, don't we?"

"Yes." I kissed the top of her head. "Are you ready?"

Azula sat up straight rubbed at her temples for a minute. "I am; I just wish this headache would go away."

"It will." I stood and helped her to her feet once again. This time she stayed up, and I told her I'd get her orange juice while she got herself ready. Azula didn't seem convinced it would help, but she would at least humor me. When I returned with the glass of juice, Azula was wearing a soft pink dress with lilies embroidered onto the bottom, and she was brushing out her hair.

She set the brush down as I approached and handed her the glass. She murmured thanks before taking a sip. Her eyebrows rose. "This isn't just orange juice, is it?"

I shook my head. "You wouldn't just let all that champagne go to waste, would you?"

"I'm beginning to think someone has a problem," she said before taking another drink. "But this is good."

"I told you it would help." I picked up the brush and began to run it through her hair.

"You don't have to do that," she said, reaching a hand back. "I'm fine enough to brush my own hair."

"But I want to," I told her. She didn't argue after that and finished her drink while I braided her hair. Her locks were soft in my hands, and they folded neatly into each other with my guidance. I tied a red ribbon around the bottom. When I was finished, she looked into the mirror and began to laugh.

"You do a better job than I do," she teased. "Thank you."

We held one quick kiss before heading off to the carriage that would take us to the boat docks.

Zuko and Mai rode in the carriage with us. Mai sat in her usual pouty silence, her legs crossed and arms folded over her chest. Her head tilted away from us, and her gaze focused on the tiny window next to her. Zuko kept wringing his hands with his elbows rested on his knees. He tried several times to make some sort of conversation with Azula, but the bumpy ride of the carriage wasn't helping her headache and she barely responded.

Azula hadn't packed much: enough clothes to last the two week journey back to Ba Sing Se, a handful of books, and her beloved paintbrushes. She had made her way through about half of my book of laws and customs, and she planned to finish it all before ever setting foot on Earth Kingdom soil. "I'm not going to forget where I came from," she had explained an afternoon a couple days before. "I just need to know where I'm going before I get there."

I had originally planned on taking a short tour of the southern cities before hopping a boat to avoid the desert, but I worried that word of Azula's presence would reach Ba Sing Se before we would. Any rumors that could formulate between the miles we'd have to cover could destroy the idea to the people before Azula ever had a chance to do something. Although as a king, I knew I needed to see my people. Not visiting the southern cities was almost as bad as taking Azula into them with me.

We reached the docks before too long, and I helped a woozy Azula out of the carriage and onto the wooden dock.

"When did you say this concoction of yours would start making me feel better?" she complained.

"Is something wrong?" Zuko asked as he helped Mai down.

Azula shook her head slowly. "Just a little headache."

Coachmen and sailors helped load things onto the boat that was tied at the docks. Assuming I was still taking my tour of the southern cities, the boat would take us to the southern coast, and we would ride in a contraption that was more or less a decorated tank from city to city. I didn't like the tank, and I figured Azula wouldn't either, but my security insisted on it since there was still unrest in places. There was about to be a lot more unrest if the kingdom didn't take well to Azula.

We stood a little awkwardly in a line in silence as we watched the men work at loading the boat. Mai stood with her arms crossed, Zuko held his hands behind his back, Azula leaned on my shoulder and kept her eyes closed, and I kept one arm around her waist to keep her steady. We should've been talking, but about what I didn't know.

As the loading was finishing up, Zuko turned to me. "You'll keep her safe, won't you?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm from a city of walls, remember?"

Azula blinked her eyes open and stood up straight. "Zuko, I'm going to be just fine. Don't worry about me."

Zuko lurched forward and encased Azula in a tight hug. She weakly returned the hug, but she didn't move until he began to pull away. "You're going to do great things again, aren't you?" he said, his hands clasped onto her shoulders.

"Zuko, I haven't done anything great yet," she answered softly.

He smiled so big I was afraid his cheeks were going to burst. "You will."

Azula nodded and wiped at the tears forming in her eyes. "I've got a long way to go first."

Her brother pulled her into one last hug, and this time Azula hugged him back much tighter. When they let go, Zuko turned to me again. "I know we've had our differences," he began. "But if Azula needs to do this, then I'm glad she has you."

I nodded. I wasn't the worst choice she could've made. "You don't have to worry about her at all," I said, trying to reassure him as much as I could. "Azula's not going to leave my side."

Azula wrapped her arms around my waist as if to reinforce my word. "Please don't worry about me. You have more important things to worry about."

"He's going to worry about you," Mai cut in. "It's just what he does."

Zuko looked back over his shoulder at her. Her arms were still crossed over her chest, and her expression hadn't changed. Her voice wasn't nearly as harsh as her appearance though. "This was your idea," he pointed out.

"I know." She came forward and stood beside him. "I wasn't planning on it working so well."

"Thank you, Mai," Azula said.

The girls exchanged a glance of appreciation that meant more than any hug. Whatever had happened between them in the past would disappear in no time. It wouldn't be long, and Azula's entire time of silence would be forgotten about.

The captain of my ship approached us; the ship was ready to depart. Zuko and I shared one awkward handshake, and he gave Azula one last encompassing hug. I went to thank Mai, but she waved her hand before I could speak.

"We'll see you in a few months," she said, her usual dull tone returning.

"It's always a pleasure, Mai," I told her.

I thought I saw her start to crack a smile, but whatever I saw quickly disappeared as Zuko placed his arm around her waist. Azula took hold of my hand, squeezing my fingers with what I assumed to be anticipation. I turned to the long, wooden boat floating at the end of the dock. The captain led us on the boat, and the sailors all gave quick bows to me as I walked by. Each bow was followed by a confused look as Azula followed alongside me. Maybe on the journey overseas I could convince this handful of people and have a group of ambassadors for Azula, people to speak good about her.

On the boat, Azula and I stood at the railing while the anchor was pulled up and the gangplank brought back. We exchanged waves with Zuko and Mai, and when the boat lurched forward, Azula grabbed onto the rail and crumpled forward a bit.

"Kuei," she complained, "did any of your hangovers follow with a boat ride?"

I pried her fingers off the railing to help her back up. "No, they did not," I snickered. "Would you like to lay down for awhile?"

She nodded. We gave the Fire Nation one more wave before I led her to an empty passenger's room in the center of the ship. Azula fit perfectly into the short bed of the cabin. Instant relief came over her face as she wrapped herself in the thin blanket and laid her head down on the small, flat pillow. Her eyes closed, and she mumbled something about this being much better.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. The only real solution to a hangover I'd found was a nap. When she woke up, I could take her around the ship and introduce her to the crew.

Back on the main deck, my captain immediately began going over the itinerary with me. Not a word was breathed to me about my guest. I informed the ship's cook I'd brought along someone extra, but otherwise Azula was never brought up in conversation.

We had just passed through the Gates of Azulon when Azula wandered up onto the deck of the boat. Strands of hair were falling out of her braid and they blew across her face in the breeze of the moving boat. When she saw me standing at the railing, taking a break from the important politics I'd missed in the Earth Kingdom, she approached me and took both of my hands in hers.

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked.

Azula nodded. "Much better. I think I've earned hearing a story or two of your adventures in alcohol."

I couldn't help but smirk a little. "I don't know if right here is a good place for that."

A subtle pout came across her face. "You really don't want to tell me about this, do you?"

"It's not something I'm especially proud of," I said, letting go of her hand to tuck loose hair behind her ear. "But if you really want to know, I'm sure we can find a quiet place tonight."

Azula leaned against me, pressing her cheek to my chest. "I'm already getting stares and whispers," she mumbled. "I don't think they realize who I am though."

That Azula wouldn't be recognizable to a lot of people hadn't crossed my mind. Years alone might've been enough to make her look different, but everything else in the equation helped build the gap between the Azula in my arms now and the Azula in chains years before.

"Then we'll have to tell them," I whispered.

"Hiding isn't an option for you, is it?" she mused.

"Azula, I've spent enough of my time hiding. It doesn't do any good." I kissed to top of her head.

"No," she answered, "it doesn't."

We stood together in the warmth of the sun and cool of the breeze, leaning back on the railing to watch the ship's crew fumble about. With calm seas, there wasn't much to do, but with me standing where I was, they all were attempting to find things that at very least looked productive. There was cleaning of the ship's two cannons to a point that their reflection of the sun was becoming blinding. The main deck was swept several times and scrubbed once. The sailors ran a few drills about once every half hour. We watched and laughed at the silliness of it all. When my captain appeared from the lower deck, he came up to us and bowed respectfully.

"Your highness, the cook has prepared an early supper for you and your," he hesitated a moment as his eyes flicked to Azula. "Guest," he finished. "If you're hungry, that is."

I glanced to Azula. She hadn't eaten all day. "Are you hungry?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Thank you, Captain," I said as I looked back to the man. "By the way, I'd like you to meet my new advisor, Princess Azula."

A small, polite smile appeared on her lips.

The man's dark eyes widened at the name, and he hesitated to answer. He stammered through a few syllables before his panicked expression fell away and he gave a little bow to Azula. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said with a rush of words.

"I don't bite, Captain," Azula told him rather quietly.

"Of course not," he agreed quickly as he stood back up. His complexion was noticeably paler. "Enjoy your meal, your highness." He was stiff in his movements as he wandered away.

"I'm used to people acting as if I'm going to do something horrible to them," Azula said as I began to lead her towards the door to the lower deck. "It hurts a lot more than I remember."

"It'll take time," I reminded her gently as a sailor mulling about the deck opened the door for us. "Maybe I shouldn't have sprung it on him quite like that either."

The smile reappeared on her face. "We can rework our strategy over dinner."

Despite just getting over her first hangover, Azula didn't turn down a glass of wine at dinner, or a second one in place of dessert. We made our way to the upper deck to share our drink more privately, and give the crew a break from their useless hard work. The sun was still bright in the sky, and it would be a few more hours before sunset, but we leaned on the railing and watched the sun burn in the blue sky anyway.

"I would like to propose a toast," I said, nudging her with my shoulder.

"And to what do you propose a toast to?" she asked, gently bumping her hip against me.

"To craggy ledges," I announced.

Azula started to giggle. "And why craggy ledges?"

"Because." I held up my glass. "What's life if you're not standing on one?"

That glorious smile appeared again. The one that consumed her face, turned her cheeks pink, and made her eyes glow like lit candles. I could draw that out of her, and nothing could make me happier.

She tapped her glass against mine. "To craggy ledges."

We took drinks and brought our glasses down in silence. Azula leaned against me, and I moved my arm to wrap around her.

"You know, when I was a little girl," she spoke in nearly a whisper, "part of me wished that a handsome stranger would come along and whisk me away to some unknown paradise." Azula brought the glass of dark wine to her pale lips and took a slow drink. "I guess that part of me knew I would need it."

We stayed on the upper deck until the sun reached the horizon line. The sky was turning an eerie red color that was broken only by shadowed clouds forming above us, something I'd noticed the sailors were never content with. Azula seemed unsettled by it as well, and coaxed me back into the ship, begging me for a hangover story.

* * *

><p><em>-fini-<em>

_...ou peut-être pas?_


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

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><p>The brisk air of early autumn carried in the breeze and caressed my cheeks and blew my hair away from my face. A haze twisted through the gardens, moisture rising from the rain earlier that day and making the air damp as though I was walking through a cloud. The half moon gave me enough light to see what was around me. Nipping cold bit through my thin cotton coat and silken nightgown; the only warmth I felt came from Bosco walking next to me, his lumbering paces occasionally causing a furry leg to brush against me. I rested a hand on his back, and he grumbled.<p>

"We're a lot alike, you know that, buddy?" I said. "Everyone expects us to be scary and mean, but we're not. We couldn't be even if we wanted to."

Three months in the Earth Kingdom had proved to be more difficult than anyone could've imagined. The only friendly face in the palace was Kuei; most of the other officials wouldn't even acknowledge I was there. When the word got out to the citizens I had returned to Ba Sing Se, the demonstrations began. Speeches were given. Organizations were formed in hate. Effigies were burned. There were days Kuei and I didn't dare go outside the palace, not even to the gardens where I walked now. Some of the people began to lash out at Kuei, and those brave enough to speak against him or hold rallies for support of his overthrowing were arrested for treason. Tears were spilt. Kisses were shared. Letters were sent home.

Home. No placed seemed deserving of the title for me. I didn't want the Fire Nation, and the Earth Kingdom didn't want me. I knew the house at Lake Laogai better than the palace because Kuei and I had retreated there so many times when not even the palace felt safe. The only place I could begin to call home was wrapped in Kuei's arms. There was where I could pretend I was safe.

When the rioters grew tired of yelling and fighting with the palace police, nights were quiet. I snuck outside to walk by myself and tell myself that we were going to be alright. Bosco tagged along because being moved back into the palace bothered him, and he wanted to be outside. His loyalty to Kuei was unfailing, and we figured he would protect him if he was threatened. Bosco also had a strange attachment to me. I couldn't decide if it was because Kuei liked me so Bosco agreed, or if he'd just forgotten who I had been and only cared about who I was now.

Kuei didn't know I left like this; although, I figured he wouldn't mind if he did know. I needed time to be alone and have space to breathe. Tonight, I found a grassy spot, and Bosco and I laid down on the wet grass to look at the stars. Kuei loved to stargaze, and on nights we spent at the lake, he would take me to roof to show me all the Earth Kingdom constellations. I usually ended up falling asleep, and he would carry me down to bed. I always felt bad about it though, since stars were so fascinating for him, and tonight I tested myself on what I could remember.

There was Oma and Shu, towards the west. I could always find that one. The different kings were all in the north. The great badgermole was northwest. To the east was a fabled warrior I couldn't remember the story to. A lionturtle was in the south as well as an Avatar from generations long ago.

It wasn't long and I could hear Bosco snoring. I rolled over onto my stomach and propped myself up on my elbows to look him square in the face. "Is it that boring for you, too?" I asked him.

He rubbed his paw across his face and blinked his black eyes at me.

"Come on, we should get back before someone notices we're gone anyway," I told him, pushing myself up to stand. Bosco clumsily trotted after me and eventually was at my side again. I couldn't help but smile. He was so oblivious to the danger surrounding us. Bosco just enjoyed having his ears scratched, and occasionally someone to cuddle with.

Every day it was harder to believe that Kuei had told me they would get used to me. They would move on from what I'd done when they figured out what I could do. Unfortunately, the riots and protests were so bad, I couldn't stick a toe outside of the palace without losing it. No one was going to listen to me.

Not being listened to was nothing new to me. In fact, the only person I expected to listen to me was Kuei. That way when anyone else bothered to, it was a pleasant surprise. And to be honest, the only difference between not being listened to in the Fire Nation and not being listened to in the Earth Kingdom was the color. The fuss being made over my existence here and the invisibility I'd established there didn't even seem like a difference. Whichever I had, I secretly wished to be the other.

About a week ago, Kuei had caved into the protesters and told me I was free to go home at any time. So I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him. When he hugged me tight in return, I told him that he was home. The rest of the day, he refused to let go of me.

Tonight though, Bosco and I snuck back into the palace, something that grew increasingly easier the longer the riots lasted. Guards and soldiers spent any still moment asleep, and I was counting the days until they joined the protesters in aggravation of me.

In truth, I was aggravated with myself. Nothing I did was easy. Did fate have it that I would unknowingly punish myself for the horrible things I had done? I had walked into Ba Sing Se on the Earth King's arm knowing there would be danger, and yet I did it anyway. I leaned against the walls of meeting rooms for hours, standing in the shadows and watching time after time the Council of Five shoot down Kuei's politics. They all thought I was controlling him, that anything he said was not his own.

This wasn't true. I cringed every time the accusation came to my ears. Kuei and I barely talked politics. The issue on the table was me anyway, and we both stood on the same side about that: I was here to stay, and I would cause no harm.

Bosco and I had made it to the final hallway before my assigned rooms when he stopped to sneeze. I turned around and held my finger to my lips as if he were human. Bosco only cocked his head at my gesture. We stood in silence for a moment, me waiting to see if anyone would appear to check on the noise. No one came rushing to fight off intruders, and I continued down the hallway, Bosco fumbling after me.

My door was slightly open when I knew I had made sure to close it when I left. My heartbeat quickened, but I carefully pushed the door open wide enough to fit Bosco through and we entered. Moonlight from the windows and the glow of one candle gave me enough to make out the shape of someone sitting on the edge of my bed in the middle of the room. They turned at the thudding of Bosco's footsteps. Bosco immediately recognized his friend and bounded across the room to greet him.

I smiled sheepishly, keeping the distance of the long bed between us.

"Where were you?" Kuei asked, his voice breaking as he spoke. Bosco nudged his master's knees until he placed a hand on the bear's head to scratch his ears.

"Outside, just in the gardens," I answered. The candle light caught in his glasses and cast a glare over them. "I just wanted to breathe some fresh air."

"I thought you'd left for good." He yanked the glasses off and rubbed at his eyes. "You shouldn't go out alone like that."

My smile left me, and I crawled across the bed to reach him. "I know," I said. "Everything seemed quiet though, and I took Bosco with me." At his side, I could see the moisture in his gray eyes. "I wasn't trying to scare you."

He put his arm around me and I buried myself in him. Bosco sat on the ground with a grunt. "Everything scares me," he mumbled.

"I wouldn't leave you," I offered as assurance. "Never at all, but certainly not without telling you."

Kuei managed one cough of laughter. "I should know that," he said as he pulled his hand through my hair. "Some days it's still hard to convince myself you're here at all."

The spot now empty, I laid my head in his lap. "Is that what you're doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Yes," he admitted, hints of shame creeping into his voice. "I dreamt you had decided to go back home, so I came down just to make sure you were still here."

And I hadn't been there. "Kuei, I'm so sorry."

He didn't respond; he just continued to run his fingers through my hair.

"Besides," I said, "I told you home was right here." His hand stopped, and I turned onto my back to look up at him. A grin slowly crept across his face.

"Why are you so wonderful?" he asked.

"Not as wonderful as you," I argued lightly with my own grin. "Please stay with me the rest of the night; I don't think I could sleep without you to snuggle with now."

"Of course."

Bosco grumbled in his indistinct bear language and licked my face. Kuei and I began to laugh as I wiped the bear spit off of me. Kuei pulled me up to sit, and Bosco planted his head in both our laps.

"I guess someone else thinks he needs to stay, too," I laughed, running my hand across the top of his head.

Kuei's arms around me tightened. "You know what Bosco is perfect for?"

I glanced up at him. His eyes danced in the moonlight with whatever silly thought entertained his mind. "What is that?"

"He makes the best pillow," Kuei answered. "Come on, let's get some blankets, and I'll show you."

Kuei and I regressed to children like no one I'd ever met before. We gathered all the blankets off my bed and coaxed Bosco into the corner, then rubbed his belly until he was asleep beyond being shaken awake. We curled up next to him, leaning our backs against his fluffy coat and burying ourselves in blankets. We whispered good night's and sweet dream's to each other, and Kuei kissed my forehead.

"You taste like fish," he teased.

We shared one more laugh before drifting off to sleep. I nestled myself deeper in Kuei's arms, determined to never leave them.

* * *

><p>Just a little epilogue nugget. I broke a big rule of fiction by switching perspectives, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.<p>

_C'est fini. Merci beaucoup._


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